M. CHKHEIDZE
UG BOOKS
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESS
Tbilisi
2015
M. CHKHEIDZE
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Tbilisi
2015
განკუთვნილია პროფესიულ–დარგობრივი ინგლისური ენის შემსწავლელი ქართველი
სტუდენტებისათვის. სახელმძღვანელოში მოიცავს პროფესიულ–დარგობრივი ინგლისური
ენის დამოუკიდებლად გამოყენების საფეხურისათვის შესაბამის ენობრივ მასალას.
სახელმძღვანელოში მოცემული დავალებათა ტიპები ორიენტირებულია ეფექტური წერითი
და ზეპირი კომუნიკაციის უნარ-ჩვევების ჩამოყალიბებაზე.
რედაქტორი რ. გოცირიძე
დაიბეჭდა საქართველოში, თბილისში
გამომცემლობა „საქართველოს უნივერსიტეტი“
Copyright © The University of Georgia
საავტორო უფლებები დაცულია © 2015 გამომცემლობა „საქართველოს უნივერსიტეტი“
კოსტავას ქ. 77ა
თბილისი 0175, საქართველო
ISBN ?????
UNIT 1. WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE?
Knowledge has become perhaps the most important factor determining the standard of living - more
than land, than tools, than labour. Today's most technologically advanced economies are truly
knowledge-based.
Technology and knowledge are now the key factors of production

Knowledge is the basic form of capital. Economic growth is driven by the accumulation of
knowledge.

While any given technological breakthrough may seem to be random, new technological
developments can create technical platforms for further innovations, and that this technical
platform effect is a key driver of economic growth.

Technology can raise the return on investment, which explains why developed countries can
attain sustain growth and why developing economies, even those with unlimited labour and
ample capital, cannot attain growth.
What is the knowledge economy? "A knowledge-driven economy is one in which the generation and
exploitation of knowledge play the predominant part in the creation of wealth". In the industrial era,
wealth was created by using machines to replace human labour. Many people associate the
knowledge economy with high-technology industries such as telecommunications and financial
services.
More than 60% of US workers are knowledge workers!
Knowledge workers are defined as "symbolic analysts", workers who manipulate symbols rather than
machines. They include architects and bank workers, fashion designers and pharmaceutical
researchers, teachers and policy analysts. In advanced economies such as the US, more than 60 per
cent of workers are knowledge workers.
Unlike capital and labour, knowledge strives to be a public good. Once knowledge is discovered and
made public, it is shared with more users. The creator of knowledge finds it hard to prevent others
from using it.
Know-why and know-who matters more than know-what
There are different kinds of knowledge that can usefully be distinguished. Know-what, or knowledge
about facts, is nowadays diminishing in relevance. Know-why is knowledge about the natural world,
society, and the human mind. Know-who refers to the world of social relations and is knowledge of
who knows what and who can do what. Knowing key people is sometimes more important to
innovation than knowing scientific principles. Know-where and know-when are becoming
increasingly important in a flexible and dynamic economy. Know-how refers to skills, the ability to
do things on a practical level.
A country's capacity to take advantage of the knowledge economy depends on how quickly it can
become a “learning economy”. Learning means not only using new technologies to access global
knowledge, it also means using them to communicate with other people about innovation. In the
"learning economy" individuals, firms, and countries will be able to create wealth in proportion to
their capacity to learn and share innovation.
Intellectual capital is a firm's source of competitive advantage!
To become knowledge driven, companies must learn how to recognise changes in intellectual capital
of their business. A firm's intellectual capital - employees' knowledge, brainpower, know-how, and
processes, as well as their ability to continuously improve those processes - is a source of competitive
advantage. But there is now considerable evidence that the intangible component of the value of high
technology and service firms far outweighs the tangible values of its physical assets, such as buildings
or equipment.
How do we measure a firm's intellectual capital? How can a firm tell whether its knowledge assets
have increased or diminished over a certain period of time? According to Strassman, intellectual
capital is what is left over after suppliers, employees, creditors or shareholders and the government
have been paid, and obsolete) assets replaced.
What about information and communication technologies (ICT)? ICT are the enablers of change.
They do not by themselves create transformations in society. ICT are best regarded as the facilitators
of knowledge creation in innovative societies. The new economics looks at ICT not as drivers of
change but as tools for releasing the creative potential and knowledge embodied in people.
The rate of technological change has greatly increased over the past thirty years. There can be no
doubt that the cycle of technology development and implementation is accelerating and that we are
moving inexorably onward, out of the Industrial Age and into the Information Age.
With the advent of information and communication technologies, the vision of perfect competition is
becoming a reality. Consumers can now find out the prices offered by all vendors for any product.
New markets have opened up, and prices have dropped.
Competition is fostered by the increasing size of the market opened up by new technologies.
Competition and innovation go hand in hand. Products and processes can be swiftly imitated and
competitive advantage can be swiftly eroded. Knowledge spreads more quickly, but to compete a firm
must be able to innovate more quickly than its competitors.
In a global marketplace where consumers are overwhelmed by choice, brand recognition assures(
their trust in both the tangibles and intangibles that a product will deliver. Like intellectual capital,
brand equity can be hard to measure yet it may account for a significant proportion of a company's
value. It is intangible in the sense that it often consists of customers' perceptions of the value they
gain from using a product or service rather than any measurable benefit.
THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
The knowledge economy, as Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain has said three years ago, is
really about one economy. There is, he says, "no new economy…there is one economy, all of it being
transformed by information technology…it is a profound economic revolution."
What this means is that business must be in a constant process of change and adaptation to the new
economic realities. In this new economy, it is evident that the key to success is "knowledge". For
governments they are going to have to invest in, and develop, knowledge workers. This is going to
mean that government budgets must allocate funds for skills development and education. What is
important to realize, from the perspective of knowledge as a capital tool, is that the Internet has
tipped the scales in favour of both businesses and governments. For example, for scientists in business
and government, the Internet is a major tool to assist in the sharing of research and the findings.
Scientists can now do this in an increasingly global environment. Exchange of research and ideas has
accelerated innovation, inventions, and creation of new goods and products, at a rate never before
known in human history.
The rapid development of the Internet has resulted in an escalation of the global economy. This
globalisation has had a profound impact on both the economies of nations and the pressures on
countries to compete effectively in this new global environment. Globalisation of the economy has
also raised new issues of nationalism and protection of local culture. Yet, the pressures for change,
brought by this new phenomenon, have also meant that countries can compete on a global scale. In
this new environment two of the most important commodities of a nation are becoming information
and knowledge.
Globalisation has been spurred on by the Internet, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In
this new environment, it will be important for governments to develop mechanisms to encourage the
private sector, and public sector research organizations, to be innovative and able to deploy
knowledge. Increasingly, as Prime Minister Blair has pointed out, more and more individuals and
companies are engaged in businesses that are connected to the Internet. In 1999 it was estimated that
Britain was the leader in e-Commerce in Europe, spending 2 billion online. But this is not just about
the Internet, or e-commerce. The Knowledge economy is about how the new technologies have
transformed the way we think and act, and the ways in which we use the Internet which is
transforming our world economies.
Yet, despite the benefits of the transformed world economies, there are the deeper issues as to
whether or not many of the developing nations can also benefit. The digital divide, economies of
scale, trans-global organizations dominating the world markets, powerful economic engines of a few
rich countries, and other concerns, can leave the impression that the gap in the world between the
rich and the poor will widen over time. There is an argument to be made that the gap will widen over
time if developed countries and international organizations do not move faster to narrow the gaps
and bring in policies that will benefit all the peoples of the world. The evolving, powerful new
technological tools, and the Internet are media that can be harnessed to benefit developing countries.
But this cannot happen in a vacuum. To succeed in the knowledge economy there are certain very
basic policies that are needed. The first is to create a cultural change within the institutions of the
country.
It is essential for any country, in developing structures for their knowledge-based economies, to
develop their own best practices based on their history and cultural development. This is an
important principle to understand as, for any country to succeed, it must, by necessity, rely on its
own internal understanding and the wisdom of its culture. Many countries see globalisation as a
threat to their cultures. To many in the world, globalisation benefits the rich and powerful nations
and is perceived as another form of colonialization. Obviously, individual countries are the ones best
suited to change their own culture. But, the lesson is the same, for any country to transform itself
into a viable, knowledge-based economy, internal, institutional change will be crucial.
One of the prime tools a government needs, in order to embrace as much of their citizenry as
possible, is wide access to both the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Thus, to achieve this, connectivity programs, funded by government, are necessary. In many
countries, raising the overall literacy of the population is a primary goal.
This is essential for the development of knowledge workers at all levels of society. Importance is
placed on computer literacy because it is now estimated that over 60% of production is created by
knowledge workers. Technology pervades our lives, from the kitchen, to our means of transportation,
to the workplace.
To thrive in the global knowledge economy it is going to be important to change the whole
educational system to ensure a wide base of knowledge workers who understand and use these
information technologies. Thus, education is a key, in order to ensure the skills for the knowledge
economy exist in abundance . It is important that there be an army of skilled technical experts who
understand and can apply technical knowledge. These workers are the underpinnings
of the
knowledge economy.
Part of the challenge in allowing wide access to the rich resources that exist through the Internet and
other ICTs, is ensuring that there are sufficient opportunities for businesses to be online. There need
to be programs to fund businesses to get them online. This is an important lesson many of the
developed countries have had to learn. Getting businesses online is not just ensuring wide access to
the Internet. It also requires extensive educational programs so business leaders understand the
opportunities and benefits of having an online presence. This is important so that they can take
advantage of the world as a potential customer.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
KNOWLEDGE
•
You don't know how much you know until you know how much you don't know.-Anon.
•
It is nothing for one to know something unless another knows you know it.-Proverb
•
Men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools ever known were
learned men.-Proverb
•
I find that a great part of the information I have, was acquired by looking up something and
finding something else on the way.-Franklin Pierce Adams
•
Man knows more than he understands.-Alfred Adler
•
I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can.-Lucille
Ball
•
We have more information now than we can use, and less knowledge and understanding than
we need. Indeed, we seem to collect information because we have the ability to do so, but we
are so busy collecting it that we haven't devised a means of using it. The true measure of any
society is not what it knows but what it does with what it knows. Warren Bennis
•
It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.-Claude Bernard
•
Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify.-Ambrose Bierce
•
Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty.-Jacob Bronowski
•
To me the charm of an encyclopedia is that it knows and I needn't.-Francis Yeats Brown
•
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you
make a life.-Sandara Carey
IDIOMS RELATED TO INTELLIGENCE - UNDERSTANDING

common knowledge
When information is well-known to everyone (particularly in a community or group), it is called
common knowledge.
You didn't know the intern was Jack's son? It thought it was common knowledge.

credibility gap
The extent of disbelief, of the difference between what you are asked to believe and what you are
able to believe, is call a credibility gap.
The growing credibility gap may lead to a serious loss of votes in the next elections.

at cross purposes
If two people are at cross purposes, there is a misunderstanding as to what each one is talking about.
Look, we seem to be at cross purposes. You're talking about 'sailing' boats, but I'm talking about
'selling' boats.

crystal clear
A statement or expression that is easy to understand or has an obvious meaning is crystal clear or as
clear as crystal.
There was no need to repeat the instructions. They were crystal clear.

dumbing down
If something, such as a television program or a film production, is dumbed down, it is deliberately
made less intelligent or less demanding in order to attract a larger audience.
Some TV channels are dumbing down their programs in an attempt to increase their audience ratings.

enough said
This expression is used to indicate that you completely understand the situation and you do not need
any further details.
Your mother-in-law arrived unexpectedly last night? Enough said!

eyes (wide) open
If you do something with your eyes open, you are fully aware of what you are doing.
I took on the job with my eyes wide open so I'm not complaining.

facts speak for themselves
When the facts of a situation are co clear that no further explanation or extra details are necessary,
the facts speak for themselves.
No need to tell you that the situation is disastrous. The facts speak for themselves.

get someone's drift
If you get someone's drift, you understand in a general way what they are trying to say.
I didn't understand every word but I got the drift.

get the message
If you get the message, you understand what someone is trying to tell you, even if it is expressed in
actions or gestures rather than words.
When Tony pointed to his watch, I got the message - it was time to leave for the airport.

get the picture
A person who gets the picture understands what is being explained or described.
The alarm went off and people started running everywhere - you get the picture I'm sure!

get wise to
If you get wise to something, you learn something that you were not aware of before.
He finally got wise to the fact that children were stealing apples from his garden.

hammer something home
If you hammer home a point or an argument, you repeat it often to make sure that it is fully
understood.
The police hammered home the dangers of drinking and driving.

hit the nail on the head
When you hit the nail on the head, you are absolutely right about something or have guessed the
exact nature of a problem or situation.
You hit the nail on the head when you said Mark had money problems. He's lost his job.

horse sense
Someone who has horse sense is a practical thinker who has the ability to make sensible decisions.
Don't worry. Andrew has good horse sense. He'll do the right thing.

ignorance is bliss
This means that if you don't know about a problem or unpleasant fact, you won't worry about it.
I didn't know our neighbor was an escaped prisoner until the police arrived - ignorance is bliss!

jump to conclusions
A person who jumps to conclusions reaches a decision or makes a judgement too fast, before taking
the time to check out all the facts.
We haven't got the full story yet so let's not jump to conclusions.

know which side your bread is buttered
If you know which side your bread is buttered, you know where your interests lie or what will be to
your advantage.
Jack never argues with his father-in-law. He knows which side his bread is buttered.

learning curve
The length of time needed to learn something new is called the learning curve.
The new system has a long learning curve so we'll have to give the staff time to get used to it.

light bulb moment
A light bulb moment is when you have a sudden moment of inspiration, comprehension or
realization.
Harry had a light-bulb moment when he finally realized what was blocking the mechanism.
UNIT 2. SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
Science is a vast subject. Different scientific knowledge can be divided into two parts according to the
nature of the origin of that particular knowledge:

Laboratory Proven Scientific Knowledge:
Isaac Newton discovered the gravitational force and worked on to find out the nature of that force,
he derived the three famous laws of force. These 3 laws can be practically proven at a well-equipped
laboratory.

Assumption Based Scientific Knowledge:
Albert Einstein is regarded as one of the most accomplished scientists in history; but the law of massenergy for which he is so famous is based on pure assumption. E=mc2, the famous formula derived by
the great scientist cannot be proved at any laboratory as it is impossible to achieve the speed of the
light.
When it comes to different forms of scientific knowledge, it means in how many forms the scientific
knowledge can be described or imbibed. What people read in science textbooks is the result of the
valiant effort of the scientist, who spent their whole life at laboratories to invent or derive something
new or unknown. We are reading the result of their effort. The conclusions they derive or what we
are reading in our text books are of two types; first one, what they proved in the laboratories and the
other is what they assume.
There are many doubts that emerge during the search for personal knowledge. Doubt is one of the
elements of personal knowledge. Let’s admit that it is healthier to understand things than to learn
them. But, of course, one has to place certain limits on personal knowledge as there are things that
we don't understand but we accept them because they are generally accepted. To this extent our
personal scientific knowledge is more limited than general scientific knowledge.
ARGUMENTS
The word "argument" has different meanings in different contexts. In philosophy, an argument is the
set of reasons offered to get you to believe something. Sometimes "argument" refers to just the
premises, as in "You think X? What's your argument for that?" Sometimes it refers to the premises
plus the conclusion they're supposed to get you to believe. To understand philosophy you must find
the arguments contained in what philosophers say and write. You must, in other words, find what it
is they want you to believe, and what reasons they're giving you to believe it. It's not that hard to do.
As you read, just keep asking yourself what the author is trying to persuade you of—what is the main
point being made? And what reasons are being offered in favor of it? Once you find the arguments,
you must then evaluate them; that is, check and see whether they're any good. To evaluate an
argument, the first thing you need to notice is what type of argument it is. There are two main types
of arguments: inductive and deductive.
Let’s consider the basic structure of the most comprehensive and effective deployment of inductive
reasoning in human history. Since its development during the Renaissance, modern science has
contributed significantly to our ability to perceive, understand, and manipulate the natural world.
Taken generally as a way of acquiring human knowledge, science is a procedure for the invention and
evaluation of hypotheses that may be used to explain why things happen as they do. Unlike dogmatic
appeals to the absolute, unchallengeable truth of unsupported assertions (as, for example, when a
parent tells a child, "Because I say so, that's why."), scientific explanations are always tentative
proposals, offered in hopes of capturing the best outlook on the matter but subject to evaluation,
modification, or even overturn in light of further evidence.
The conclusion of the argument must be true if all of the premises are true. Those of its premises that
state the antecedent circumstances will naturally be true so long as we have our facts straight. But the
truth of the hypotheses, which try to capture the lawlike relationship between those circumstances
and the event to be explained, will always remain open to question. So the quality of the explanation
as a whole typically rests upon the extent to which these hypotheses are reliable. Although it always
remains impossible in principle to prove the truth of a scientific hypothesis, it is possible to compare
the distinct hypotheses involved in rival explanations of the same event.
The most productive model for the structure of a scientific explanation is that of a valid deductive
argument. Some of the premises of this argument will be factual statements of the antecedent
circumstances, while the others will be the scientific hypotheses offered as a way of linking those
circumstances to the outcome stated by the conclusion. Scientific predictions have exactly the same
structure; the only difference between the explanation and the prediction of an event is whether or
not it has already occurred.
Deductive arguments try to prove their conclusions, that is, they try to show that the conclusion is
absolutely true. This is a much higher standard of persuasion დარწმუნება, and difficult to meet. If
you can make a strong ("sound") deductive argument, you can set aside your doubts:
Premise 1: All men are mortal.
Premise 2: Socrates is a human.
Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.
Premise 1: If the moon is made of green cheese, then the sky will fall this year.
Premise 2: The moon is made of green cheese.
Conclusion: The sky will fall this year.
Keep in mind that an argument can be valid even if its premises and conclusion are false. Valid form
isn't enough, by itself, to make an argument good! An arguments should be sound, as in the following
example:
Premise 1: In every Wes Craven horror movie, at least one character gets killed off.
Premise 2: Wes Craven has made at least five horror movies.
Conclusion: At least five characters have been killed off in Wes Craven's horror movies.
Inductive arguments try to give you reason to believe that something is probably true, or most likely
true:
Premise 1: This crow is black.
Premise 2: That crow is black.
Premise 3: Every crow I've ever seen is black.
Conclusion: All crows are black.
The premises of this argument do not prove that its conclusion is true. We can strengthen the
argument by adding more premises, like this:
Premise 1: This crow is black.
Premise 2: That crow is black.
Premise 3: Every crow I've ever seen is black.
Premise 4: I've traveled around the world examining crows and only found black ones.
Premise 5: I've asked everyone I've met, and they've all reported that all the crows they've
seen are black.
Premise 6: I've read every book every published about crows, and they all say crows are
always black.
Conclusion: All crows are black.
But still the conclusion is not absolutely guaranteed to be true. We must admit that even if all the
premises are true it's still possible that somewhere there was a white crow, or a red one, that nobody
noticed.
Logic is a very effective tool for persuading an audience about the accuracy of an argument. However,
people are not always persuaded by logic. Sometimes audiences are not persuaded because they have
used values or emotions instead of logic to reach conclusions. But just as often, audiences have
reached a different logical conclusion by using different premises. Therefore, arguments must often
spend as much time convincing audiences of the legitimacy of the premises as the legitimacy of the
conclusions.
For instance, assume a writer was using the following logic to convince an audience to adopt a
smaller government:
Premise
Premise
1:
2:
The
The
government
government
I
that
am
governs
proposing
best,
does
very
governs
little
least.
governing.
Conclusion: Therefore, the government I am proposing is best.
Some members of the audience may be persuaded by this logic. However, other members of the
audience may follow this logic instead:
Premise
Premise
1:
2:
The
The
government
government
proposed
that
by
governs
the
speaker
best,
does
very
governs
little
most.
governing.
Conclusion: Therefore, the government proposed by the speaker is bad.
Because they adhere to a different logical sequence, these members of the audience will not be
persuaded to change their minds logically until they are persuaded to different values through other
means besides logic.
NATURE OR NURTURE?
Does how you are raised affect your views as an adult more than what your genetic codes dictate? If
your family has always been lawyers, are you destined to be a lawyer because of your genes or
because of your familial upbringing? When identical twins are separated at birth and grow up to have
identical tastes is that an argument that it has more to do with nature than nurture? However, is it
nature to love spicy food, when that’s all that your family eat?
GUN CONTROL
It’s not guns that kill people, it’s the bullets. In some countries citizens have a right to bear arms,
which has proven to be dangerous for many other citizens. On the other hand, large portions of the
gun-toting population are careful citizens who have never crossed the law. Why should one group’s
rights to bear arms be stripped away because another group feels unsafe? Or why should they be
allowed to bear those weapons of death among a land of peaceful citizens?
EUTHANASIA
Dr. Kevorkian helped many people commit suicide due to their health conditions and their desires.
His motives were questioned because all life is supposedly precious, but his patients wanted to move
on from their frail existence. What if those patients didn’t have a say and we had the opportunity to
choose whether they live in agony or die in peace by not giving them medication or a procedure?
THE DEATH PENALTY
Centuries ago, the prevalent rule of thumb was an eye for an eye, or in some cases, a life for a life.
Have we advanced far enough in our social and political structures to ban the death penalty? Or
when is the death penalty justifiable? Is the death penalty appropriate for an accidental homicide?
How about for a mass murderer?
FREE WILL OR DESTINY?
We constantly make decisions – is something, a destiny foreseen by God, guiding us or are we truly
free of destiny? The free will or destiny argument stems back to the Christian doctrine that God has
seen everything that will happen. So if God can see everything that happens, is it free will or destiny
that makes you choose to continue studying? Some have argued that God knows you will read this
but you still have a choice. However, if the path is already apparent to one being, then the path has
already been decided for you.
MORALS – RELATIVE OR UNIVERSAL?
Why is it OK to speed, when it is breaking the law? If you would never steal a person’s purse, why
would you pirate a DVD?
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
MY PASSAGE: 1
*confusing
*well-written
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
KNOWLEDGE

A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting.-Carlos Castaneda

What I learned I no longer know; the little I still know, I guessed.-Sebastian Roch Nicolas
Chamfort

It is not the quantity but the quality of knowledge which determines the mind's dignity.William Ellery Channing

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.-Confucius

To know is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.Confucius

Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.-Edgar
Degas

Each problem that I solved became a rule, which served afterwards to solve other problems.Rene Descartes

There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge available to us: observation of
nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them;
experimentation verifies the result of that combination. Our observation of nature must be
diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means
combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common.-Denis Diderot

Men love to wonder and that is the seed of our science.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The mark of a well-educated person is not necessarily in knowing all the answers, but in
knowing where to find them.-Douglas Everett

Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.-Martin H.
Fischer

Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge. -Kahlil Gibran

The greater the knowledge, the greater the doubt.-Johann von Goethe

All knowledge is ambiguous.-J. S. Habgood
IDIOMS RELATED TO INTELLIGENCE - UNDERSTANDING

see in a new light
If you see something in a new light, you view it in a way that makes you change the opinion you had
before.
After listening to my colleague, I began to see things in a new light.

lost the plot
If a situation becomes so confusing that you are unable to understand what is happening or what you
are supposed to do, you lose the plot.
His instructions were so long and confusing that I just lost the plot!

lost the thread
If you lose the thread of a conversation or story, you are unable to follow it.
There were so many interruptions during the film that I completely lost the thread.

lost ball in high weeds
Someone who is totally confused, and doesn't know what they are doing or how to do it, is a lost ball
in high weeds.
The new intern in a lost ball in high weeds - he has no idea now to begin the task he's been given.

make sense of
If you make sense of something, you understand it or find the meaning.
I couldn't make sense of the instructions.

miss the point
If you miss the point you fail to understand the essential part of what has been said.
Sam missed the point. It's not the job that's the problem, it's the amount of work it involves for one
person.

not miss a trick
If a person never misses a trick, they are very alert and aware of everything that is happening around
them.
The old lady next door will know if Bill is there or not - she never misses a trick!

not playing with a full deck (of cards)
Someone who is not playing with a full deck (of cards) lacks intelligence or does not have full mental
abilities.
Old Mrs. Whitehead was not playing with a full deck when she bought that fancy lawnmower!

muddy the waters
If you muddy the waters, you make something less clear by giving confusing information.
I had difficulty understanding, and Alan's explanation just muddied the waters!

no-brainer
A decision or choice that requires little or no thought, because the best option is so obvious, is called
a no-brainer.
The choice was between a cash refund or having the amount credited to my account - it was a nobrainer. I took the cash!

out of your depth
If you are out of your depth, you are unable to understand a subject or deal with a situation because it
is too difficult for you.
The level of the class was too high for me, so very quickly I felt out of my depth.

out to lunch
To say that someone is out to lunch means that they seem to be either unaware of what's going on
around them, or unable to understand what is happening.
He's hopeless as a leader - considered as 'out to lunch' by the group.

penny drops
When a person has difficulty understanding or realizing something, and then the penny drops, they
finally understand.
The teasing continued for some time until the penny dropped and the boy realized it was a joke!

put two and two together
A person who can put two and two together is capable of reaching the right conclusion based on the
information they have.
Forget your explanation. She won't believe you. She can put two and two together!

quick off the mark
If someone is quick off the mark, they are quick to react to an event or take advantage of an
opportunity.
You've got to be quick off the mark when stores announce special offers.

quick/slow on the uptake
Someone who is quick or slow on the uptake is quick or slow to understand what is meant.
Please explain the problem in simple words - I'm a bit slow on the uptake!

rocket science
If you say 'it's not rocket science' or 'no need to be a rocket scientist', you are emphasizing that
something presents no major difficulty.
Bob will explain how it works. Don't worry - it's not rocket science!

sharp cookie
Someone who is not easily fooled or deceived is a sharp cookie.
You can't fool my grandmother. She's a sharp cookie!

sharp as a tack
A person who is as sharp as a tack is able to think quickly and learn very fast.
You won't have to explain it to him twice. He's as sharp as a tack.
UNIT 3. SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS AND SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
Let us raise the logically prior question “What is an explanation?” There are three traditional answers
to this:
რა არის განსმარტება? არსებობს სამი ტრადიციული პასუხი ამ შეკითხვაზე

to explain is to remove perplexity;

ეს რომ ავხსნათ უნდა მოვიხსნათ დაბნეულობა

to explain is to change the unknown to the known;

რაღაც უცხო უნდა შევცვალოთ ნაცნობით

to explain an event or type of event is to give its causes.

და ეს რომ ავხსნათ უნდა ვიცოდეთ მიზეზები
Let’s discuss some types of scientific explanations:
Motivational explanations. Social scientists offer motivational explanations, but it is not at all obvious
how such explanations should be interpreted from a logical point of view. When a motivational
explanation is offered, there is no necessary commitment to the thesis that there are private internal
entities called motives which are responsible for behavior or action; all that is involved is some
reference to the wants, preferences, or aims of the individual or group whose action is being
described or explained. In this sense all Freudian theory, for instance, makes tacit or explicit
reference to motives, and so do all explanations by economists that refer to the utility of the agent or
group whose behavior is being discussed. What then are we attributing to a person when we attribute
a motive to him? The answer can readily be suggested: we are attributing to him a disposition to
behave in a certain way.
მოტივაციური განმარტებები. სოციალური მეცნიერება გვთავაზობს მოტივაციურ
განმარტებებს. თუმცა ეს ყველაფერი ვერ ხსნის როგორ უნდა აღიქვათ ლოგიკურად ასეთი
განმარტება. როდესაც გვაქვს მოტივაციური განმარტება არ არის აუცილებელი ვიცოდეთ ამ
თეზისის დეტერმინაზია რადგან არსებობს პირადი შიდა ორგანოები რომელსაც ვუწოდებთ
მოტივებს; სწორედ ეს მოტივები არიან პასუხისმგებლები ქცევაზე და მოქმედებაზე.
When a motivational explanation is offered, no appeal is made to a general law about the way human
beings behave but, rather, to a dispositional statement about an individual. But it is very difficult to
give the exact grounds upon which we can distinguish between laws and dispositional statements.
Functional explanations. A common type of functional “explanation” may state merely that a certain
institution plays an indispensable role in a society. Such a statement provides us with nothing more
than a necessary condition and, hence, lacks an explanation. However, the stronger types of
functional explanation do show that, holding certain things constant, the presence of a certain
mechanism is a sufficient condition for the existence of a certain state of affairs.
Causal explanation. It has been maintained at least since Aristotle that to explain an event is to give its
causes. According to this approach, we may try to explicate the uses of the term “causal law.”
A statement is occasionally called a causal law if it specifies either a sufficient condition or necessary
and sufficient conditions for a certain type of occurrence. The term “causal” is applied to laws of the
form “if A then B” when (1) A denotes a type of event that comes just before an event of type B; (2) A
and B are events or episodes in bodies or agents that are spatially contiguous; (3) the occurrence of A
is to be considered a sufficient condition for the occurrence of B even though an event of type B
might occur without one of type A preceding it.
Statistical explanation. Statistical explanations are explanations containing law like statements based
on observation of statistical regularities and/or on the statistical theory of probability. It is generally
accepted that probabilistic statements cannot be finally confirmed by observational evidence. It is
also accepted that we cannot deduce from any statistical generalization a statement to the effect that
any particular event must occur.
It is not so widely recognized, however, that the problem of statistical explanation is much harder to
deal with in the case of statistical generalizations that are either spatially or temporally restricted.
It seems that there is a paradox here: Scientific explanations are the best explanations that can be
offered for an event, yet scientific theories are always open to correction by a better explanation or
theory. What counts as a ”better” explanation or theory has been the subject of debate in the
philosophy of science. Some people believe that the better theories are those which can explain
anomalies that previous theories could not. In other words, the new, ”better” theory can explain
everything the old theory could but also can explain some things that it left unexplained. There are
many debates among philosophers of science about how to judge the ”goodness” of a theory. They all
admit that theories can never be confirmed definitively by any amount of observational material. The
possibility always exists of finding an event that does not fit the theory, thus falsifying it. However,
some theories have so much observational evidence on their side that they are said to be well
confirmed, and the possibility of finding observations that falsify them is considered negligible.
However, the philosopher of science Popper said that while one can never absolutely confirm
theories, one can definitively falsify them. In other words, it is possible to find definite events that
disconfirm, or falsify, a theory. However, other philosophers argue that this is not necessarily true,
because it is always an open question whether it is the theory that is wrong or one of the assumptions
that is not tested when the theory is tested.
Scientific theories are systematically linked to existing knowledge that is derived from other
generally accepted theories. Each scientist builds on the work of other scientists, using tested theories
to develop new theories. The scientific method is dedicated to changing theories, and scientific
knowledge progresses through the challenge and revision of theories.
The premises, or propositions, in a scientific theory must lead logically to the conclusions. Scientific
explanations show that the facts, or data, can be deduced from the general theory. The purpose of a
theory is to describe, explain, and predict observations. If a theory is based on empirically false
premises, it probably will result in empirically false conclusions. A scientific test of the truth of the
conclusions requires a comparison of the statements in the conclusion with actual states of affairs in
the ”real” world.
PARADIGM
What exactly is “paradigm? And where did it come from? Here are two definitions of paradigm:
Paradigm 1. One that serves as a pattern or model.
Paradigm 2. Paradigm is a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of
viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.
Here are some more definitions of the word paradigm:

A paradigm is a fundamental image of the subject matter within a science. It serves to define
what should be studied, what questions should be asked, and what rules should be followed in
interpreting the answers obtained.

A paradigm is the specific collection of questions, viewpoints and models that define how the
authors, publishers, and theorists, who subscribe to that paradigm, view and approach the
science.

A paradigm is the basic way of perceiving, thinking, valuing, and doing associated with a
particular vision of reality.

A paradigm is a set of rules and regulations (written or unwritten) that does two things:
a. it establishes or defines boundaries;
b. and it tells you how to behave inside those boundaries in order to be successful.

A constellation of concepts, values, perceptions and practices shared by a community, which
forms a particular vision of reality that is the basis of the way a community organizes itself.
A paradigm shift occurs when the dominant paradigm is replaced by a new paradigm. One of the
most significant paradigm shifts occurred in science when the paradigm that united all truth into one
was replaced by a paradigm that separated the revealed truth of the Bible from scientific truth.
Newton saw scientific investigation as a branch of Biblical truth. This paradigm has been replaced by
today's methodological naturalism. The problem with today's paradigm is that science has become
the only means of determining truth. The technological achievements brought about by modern
science have demonstrated its power to provide answers. Today we are ceaselessly bombarded with
the "fact" that the universe, the world and all that is in it is the result of purposeless processes.
A paradigm shift is not just a small change in science, or the modification of a theory. It is a scientific
revolution and completely changes the way in which science looks at the world. It often dictates how
the public looks at the world.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
KNOWLEDGE

The man who is too old to learn was probably always too old to learn.-Caryl Haskins

Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.Thomas Henry Huxley

Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also.-Carl Gustav Jung

The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.-John Fitzgerald
Kennedy

Knowledge is what we get when an observer, preferably a scientifically trained observer,
provides us with a copy of reality that we can all recognize.-Christopher Lasch

True scholarship consists in knowing not what things exist, but what they mean; it is not
memory but judgment.-James Russell Lowell

Sin, guilt, neurosis - they are one and the same, the fruit of the tree of knowledge.-Henry
Miller

We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.-Rutherford D. Roger

The less you know, the more you think you know, because you don't know you don't know.Ray Stevens

To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that
is true knowledge.-Henry David Thoreau

Knowledge is the most democratic source of power.-Alvin Toffler

The things we know best are the things we haven't been taught.-Marquis De Vauvenargues
IDIOMS RELATED TO INTELLIGENCE - UNDERSTANDING

shed light
If you shed light on something, you help to explain it or make it easier to understand.
It was hoped that the testimony of the witnesses would shed light on the causes of the accident.

smart alec
A smart alec is an annoying self-assertive person who tries to show off how clever they are.
Some smart alec interrupted the game claiming that the answers were incorrect!

street smart
A person who is street-smart or streetwise has enough experience and knowledge about life in the
city to be able to deal with difficult or dangerous situations.
The kids living in this area are all street-smart - they're in less danger than us.

strike home
When somebody's comments or remarks strike home, they make you fully understand the situation.
The seriousness of his injuries struck home as he listened to the surgeon.

suss out
If you suss out something, such as a problem or a situation, you examine it and manage to understand
it.
Ask Jack to explain - he's got it all sussed out!

tech savvy
People who are tech savvy have sufficient technical knowledge and skills to be comfortable using
computers and other electronic devices.
Many students are more tech-savvy than their teachers.

there is one born every minute!
This expression means that there are many people in the world who are stupid or easily fooled.
He really believed the boy found the money on the street? There's one born every minute!

tie yourself up in knots
If you tie yourself up in knots, you become totally confused or confuse others when trying to explain
something.
Sandy tied herself up in knots trying to explain the rules of the game.

tunnel vision
If a person has tunnel vision, they focus on only one aspect of something, or they are unable to see
more than one way of doing things.
Our manager has tunnel vision. He sees no reason to change anything.

use one's noodle
If you use your noodle, you use your brain or your common sense.
How did I figure that out? I just used my noodle!

walking encyclopaedia
This term refers to a person who is very knowledgeable about a lot of subjects.
The origin of Halloween? Ask Jill - she's a walking encyclopaedia!

weigh your words
If you weigh your words, you choose your words carefully in order to express exactly what you mean
and avoid any misunderstanding.
At the press conference he spoke very clearly, weighing his words.

get wires crossed
If people get their wires crossed, they misunderstand each other or are confused about what was said.
We must have got our wires crossed. I thought we were to meet at the hotel.

wise after the event
When someone realizes, after something has happened, what could have been done to prevent it
from happening, they are wise after the event.
In retrospect, I suppose I should have realized the boy was in difficulty and offered to help, but it's
easy to be wise after the event.

wise up/get wise to
If you wise up or get wise to something, you become fully aware of the facts and are no longer
fooled.
When Mike finally wised up to the methods being used, he resigned from the company.

none the wiser
If you do not know more about something after hearing or reading an explanation, or if you fail to
find information on the subject, you are none the wiser.
I tried to understand the voting system but I was none the wiser after reading the explanation.

wrap your brain around
If you concentrate on something in an effort to understand, you wrap your brain around it.
I need a translation of this report urgently, so wrap your brain around it fast!
UNIT 4. SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS
What are scientific revolutions, and what is their function in scientific development? Why should a
change of paradigm be called a revolution? In the face of the vast and essential differences between
political and scientific development, what parallelism can justify the metaphor that finds revolutions
in both?
One aspect of the parallelism must already be apparent. Political revolutions are inaugurated by a
growing sense, often restricted to a segment of the political community, that existing institutions
have ceased adequately to meet the problems posed by an environment that they have in part
created. In much the same way, scientific revolutions are inaugurated by a growing sense, again often
restricted to a narrow subdivision of the scientific community, that an existing paradigm has ceased
to function adequately in the exploration of an aspect of nature to which that paradigm itself had
previously led the way. In both political and scientific development the sense of malfunction that can
lead to crisis is prerequisite to revolution.
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
At a particular stage in the history of chemistry, some chemists began to explore the idea of atomism.
When many substances are heated they have a tendency to decompose into their constituent
elements, and often these elements can be observed to combine only in set proportions. At one time,
a combination of water and alcohol was generally classified as a compound. Nowadays it is considered
to be a solution, but there was no reason then to suspect that it was not a compound. Water and
alcohol would not separate spontaneously, but they could be separated when heated. Water and
alcohol can be combined in any proportion.
The atomists' view was correct, but if one had restricted oneself to thinking about chemistry using
only the knowledge available at the time, no progress would have occurred!
The most famous example of a revolution in scientific thought is the Copernican Revolution.
Copernicus proposed a cosmology in which the Sun was at the center and the Earth was one of the
planets revolving around it. For modeling the planetary motions, Copernicus used the tools he was
familiar with, namely the cycles and epicycles of the Ptolemaic toolbox. But Copernicus' model
needed more cycles and epicycles than existed in the then-current Ptolemaic model, and due to a lack
of accuracy in calculations, Copernicus's model did not appear to provide more accurate predictions
than the Ptolemy model. Copernicus' contemporaries rejected his cosmology, and they were quite
right to do so: Copernicus' cosmology lacked credibility. A paradigm shift later became possible
when Galileo Galilei introduced his new ideas concerning motion. Galileo put forward a bold
alternative conjecture: suppose, he said, that we always observe objects coming to a halt simply
because some friction is always occurring. Galileo had no equipment with which to objectively
confirm his conjecture, but he suggested that without any friction to slow down an object in motion,
its inherent tendency is to maintain its speed without the application of any additional force.
The Ptolemaic approach of using cycles and epicycles was becoming strained. Johannes Kepler was
the first person to abandon the tools of the Ptolemaic paradigm. He started to explore the possibility
that the planet Mars might have an elliptical orbit rather than a circular one.
Galileo's conjecture was merely that — a conjecture. So was Kepler's cosmology. But each conjecture
increased the credibility of the other, and together, they changed the prevailing perceptions of the
scientific community. Later, Newton solidified and unified the paradigm shift that Galileo and Kepler
had initiated.
One of the aims of science is to find models that will account for as many observations as possible
within a coherent framework. Together, Galileo's rethinking of the nature of motion and Keplerian
cosmology represented a coherent framework that was capable of rivaling the Ptolemaic framework.
Once a paradigm shift has taken place, the textbooks are rewritten. Often the history of science too is
rewritten, being presented as an inevitable process leading up to the current, established framework
of thought. There is a prevalent belief that all hitherto-unexplained phenomena will in due course be
accounted for in terms of this established framework. Kuhn states that scientists spend most (if not
all) of their careers in a process of puzzle-solving. Their puzzle-solving is pursued with great tenacity,
because the previous successes of the established paradigm tend to generate great confidence that the
approach being taken guarantees that a solution to the puzzle exists, even though it may be very hard
to find.
As a paradigm is stretched to its limits, anomalies - failures of the current paradigm to take into
account observed phenomena — accumulate. Some anomalies may be dismissed as errors in
observation, others as merely requiring small adjustments to the current paradigm that will be
clarified in due course. Some anomalies resolve themselves spontaneously, having increased the
available depth of insight along the way. But no matter how great or numerous the anomalies that
persist, the practicing scientists will not lose faith in the established paradigm for as long as no
credible alternative is available. To lose faith in the solubility of the problems would in effect mean
ceasing to be a scientist.
In any community of scientists there are some individuals who are bolder than most. These scientists,
judging that a crisis exists, embark on revolutionary science, exploring alternatives to long-held,
obvious-seeming assumptions. Occasionally this generates a rival to the established framework of
thought. The new candidate paradigm will appear to be accompanied by numerous anomalies, partly
because it is still so new and incomplete. The majority of the scientific community will oppose any
conceptual change. To fulfill its potential, a scientific community needs to contain both individuals
who are bold and individuals who are conservative. There are many examples in the history of
science in which confidence in the established frame of thought was eventually vindicated. Whether
the anomalies of a candidate for a new paradigm will be resolvable is almost impossible to predict.
Those scientists who possess an exceptional ability to recognize a theory's potential will be the first
whose preference is likely to shift in favor of the challenging paradigm. There typically follows a
period in which there are adherents of both paradigms. In time, if the challenging paradigm is
solidified and unified, it will replace the old paradigm, and a paradigm shift will have occurred.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
SCIENCE

That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question, and you are on the way to a
pertinent answer. -Jacob Bronowski

The most remarkable discovery ever made by scientists was science itself. -Jacob Bronowski

Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means. -William S. Burroughs

Science, after all, is only an expression for our ignorance of our own ignorance. -Samuel
Butler

Science is but the exchange of ignorance for that which is another kind of ignorance. - Lord
(George Gordon) Byron

Science must have originated in the feeling that something was wrong. -Thomas Carlyle

The true science and study of man is man. - Pierre Charron

The latest refinements of science are linked with the cruelties of the Stone Age. -Sir Winston
Churchill

If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly
right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong. - Arthur C. Clarke

Today the function of the artist is to bring imagination to science and science to imagination,
where they meet, in the myth. -Cyril Connolly

Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination. -John Dewey

Science is the attempt to make the chaotic diversity of our sense experience correspond to a
logically uniform system of thought. - Albert Einstein

A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. - Albert Einstein

If they don't depend on true evidence, scientists are no better than gossips. -Penelope
Fitzgerald

The credit of advancing science has always been due to individuals and never to the age. Johann von Goethe

Science is an integral part of culture. It's not this foreign thing, done by an arcane priesthood.
It's one of the glories of the human intellectual tradition. - Stephen Jay Gould

Everywhere you look in science, the harder it becomes to understand the universe without
God.- Robert Herrman

Science is the knowledge of consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another. Thomas Hobbes

Art is the beautiful way of doing things. Science is the effective way of doing things. Business
is the economic way of doing things.- Elbert Hubbard

Science has explained nothing; the more we know the more fantastic the world becomes and
the profounder the surrounding darkness.- Aldous Huxley

In scientific work, those who refuse to go beyond fact rarely get as far as fact. -Thomas Henry
Huxley

The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. -Thomas
Henry Huxley

Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.- Robert G. Ingersoll

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided
men.- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The worst state of affairs is when science begins to concern itself with art. - Paul Klee

Science is a game we play with God, to find out what his rules are.- Cornelius Krasel

The historian of science may be tempted to exclaim that when paradigms change, the world
itself changes with them.- Thomas S. Kuhn

Science is all metaphor.- Timothy Leary

The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions. Claude Levi-Strauss

Science is the systematic classification of experience.- George Henry Lewes

There is no greater impediment to progress in the sciences than the desire to see it take place
too quickly.- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

If it can't be expressed in figures, it's not science - it's opinion.- Lazarus Long

There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere
desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be.- Charles Sanders Pierce

Science is nothing but perception.- Plato

Science may be described as the art of systematic over-simplification.- Karl Popper

Science is for those who learn, poetry is for those who know.- Joseph Roux

Science is what you know, philosophy what you don't know.- Bertrand Russell

Science becomes dangerous only when it imagines that it has reached its goal.- George
Bernard Shaw

Science is always wrong, it never solves a problem without creating ten more.- George
Bernard Shaw

Science is organized knowledge.- Herbert Spencer

In science the important thing is to modify and change one's ideas as science advances. Herbert Spencer

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.- Edward Teller
UNIT 5. HISTORY AND PROGRESS
Why does history seem to have 'direction'? Is history more than dates and happenings? What is
historical 'cause and effect'? What is 'progress'? What is anti-progress?
Such were questions that Dooyeweerd tried to answer in his theory of history and progress. He
rejected several extant views of progress, which often inform popular assumptions and views, as
follows:

Progress must not be measured solely in terms of more so-called 'advanced' technology, nor
in terms of values of freedom, rationality and democracy.

Progress does not mean that human beings today are superior to earlier ones. Progress does
not mean that our civilisation today should be seen as superior to earlier ones.

The notion of progress must not be treated as mere fiction. Some past 'golden age' from which
we have deteriorated must not be considered false. Technological and other 'modern'
advances must not be completely ignored; there is something in them that must be taken into
account.
So how can we do this? Dooyeweerd suggested that both history and progress are closely tied with
the aspect, whose kernel (არსი) is the human ability to form and shape things and events with a
power that is beyond instinct.
Dooyeweerd's theory of history is tied in with his theory of Time and his theory of the Self, and his
Christian notion that God is not only Source but also Destiny for all humankind.
VIEWS OF PROGRESS
Rousseau was at first pessimistic about 'progress', but later saw that "culture can lead mankind to a
higher condition of freedom than nature can. He believed that progress guaranteed mankind political
freedom in the form of the unalienable (განუყოველი ) rights of the citizen. But this was no longer
viewed as the result of a natural causal process, but rather as a normative goal of culture." Kant took
this even further, "orienting the historical Idea of development to the normative moralistic Idea of
liberty of the personality-ideal." The role of progress was to free us, especially from the constraints
made upon us by Nature. Hegel attempted to think together the motives of nature and freedom.
Today, the view of progress held by politicians, industrialists, scientists, media and general unites all
the three views into an assumption that progress is a Good Thing. Medical 'progress' is often held up
as an example, freeing us from the major plagues (ჭირი) of the past. Progress not only frees us from
constraints of Nature but also those of inconvenience, and is somehow 'natural' that happens to us
and cannot be resisted. (წინააღდეგობის გაწევა) But, as increasing numbers of thinkers are
realising, such progress leads to the fragmentation of culture and community, in the dominance of
technology over life, in ecological damage. There is now enormous suspicion (ეჭვი) of 'progress'.
Dooyeweerd recognises both the blessings and the curse of progress. He sought (seek) a sound
foundation to understand the proper role and nature of 'progress' and also to present an alternative to
the above views.
Dooyeweerd did not see history as mere events, but as significant events. He suggested that
'significant events' involve formative power - the kernel of the formative aspect.
But what kind of formative power is historical progress? According to Dooyeweerd there are some
important aspects shaping society and culture. These aspects are:

the advances in hygiene (ჰაიჯინ) ჰიგიენაბ and health during the Victorian era,

the differentiation of societal institutions,

the emergence of a diverse and powerful media and other mechanisms of debate and
discourse,

the development of formal education and training,

the rise of science,

the power of technology,

the development of economy,

the development of formal or public art,

the development of equality, democracy, legal systems and the modern state.
So history may be seen as the story by which all of these aspects have been explored and opened, and
progress in a society can be seen in the degree to which these openings of aspects are manifested. In
primitive societies they remain largely unopened, the most visible manifestation of which is that
there is no differentiation of societal structures.
Dooyeweerd also suggested that historical development matches development of a baby: the baby
functions first in the earlier aspects, and then the various other aspects are 'opened up' in its life as it
grows.
The Norm of Progress
According to Dooyeweerd, “We are meant to progress and it is wrong to be retrogressive or
reactionary. The individual dispositions and talents of peoples, nations, and individual formers of
history must expand in the process of cultural development in their typical cultural spheres, and this
expansion is set mankind as a normative task."
Dooyeweerd made a detailed proposal about the norm of progress: the norm comprises a triad
(სამეული) of norms: of differentiation, individualization and integration. By these he seemed to be
referring to differentiation of societal structures, then their individualization, and finally their
integration:

Differentiation. A 'primitive' community is ruled by force, maintained by gender, a strong
clique (ჯგუფი) or family. But when an individual gains the freedom to put a novel idea into
practice, progress is made.

Individualization happens when the community freely allows individuals to apply their
talents, provided they are progressive.

Integration occurs when a community adopts this novelty, such as those for science, arts,
commerce, religion etc.
Differentiation, individualization and integration may occur sequentially, simultaneously or in mixed
order.
Comment on Western Progress
We can see Western (and other, e.g. Chinese) progress as the story of humanity's project of opening
up the aspects so that they flower and bear fruit. But many are critical of Western progress today.
'Progress' is under suspicion - especially as a norm - because it has led to enormous damage to society,
environment, the human spirit, etc. We can see each of Dooyeweerd's sub-norms as contributing to
these problems, as for example:

Differentiation has led to fragmentation in society. It is not clear that the fragmented society
of the West is to be considered superior to the more integrated societies found among socalled 'primitive' peoples.

Individualization has led to rootlessness amongst people, the breaking down of families and
communities, and increasing selfishness. It is not clear that the individualism of the West is
preferable to the more communitarian 'primitive' societies.

Integration of humanity into a whole: is this similar to globalization that we have at present?
The globalization that destroys local initiatives and enterprises for the sake the multi-national
corporations, that marginalizes local cultures, that bullies developing countries into selling
their traditional products at unjustly low prices, and that forces them to use their precious
water reserves not for growing their own food but for growing luxury foods for Western
consumption? Is this the 'integration' of humanity that Dooyeweerd meant?
Dooyeweerd's view of progress seems to be completely at odds with recent thinking and has nothing
to say in the face of such problems. The problems of Western progress can be seen in aspectual terms,
for example:

The threat to life functions, especially ecology;

The increasing stress in society;

Information overload;

The breakdown in relationships;

Greed, waste and the squandering (გაფლანგვა) of resources;

Fragmentation and de-harmonization of life, and reduction of playfulness;

Trampling (გათელვა) on rights of the marginalized (იზოლირებული);

Increased competitiveness and self-centredness;

The idols კერპები)of economism, technicism, scientism.
To the extent that Western, or any other, society obeys and opens up the norms of the other aspects,
to that extent will it be genuine progress, and to the extent that it either transgresses these norms or
refuses to open up the other aspects, to that extent will it be reactionary and retrogressive.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
MY PASSAGE: 1
*confusing
*well-written
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
PROGRESS

Human development is a form of chronological unfairness, since late-comers are able to profit
by the labors of their predecessors without paying the same price.- Alexander Herzen

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today.- Lou Holtz

The world is moving so fast nowadays that the man who says it can't be done is generally
interrupted by someone doing it.- Elbert Hubbard

Is it progress if a cannibal uses a fork?- Stanislaw Lec

All progress occurs because people dare to be different.- Harry Millner

Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the
world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.- George
Bernard Shaw

All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.- Adlai Stevenson
UNIT 6. THE LAWS OF PROGRESS
The content of the laws of progress, however, is an object of contention. Many thinkers, including
Hegel and Comte, view the development of ideas over time as the fundamental change that causes
overall improvement. Marx, in contrast, regards the growth of the means of production as primary.
Kant represents a third category, arguing that a tension within human nature itself is the source of
change. Thinkers differ in their treatment of episodes of devastation and conflict and periods of
decline.
Whether any ancient philosophers proposed a doctrine of progress is a matter of scholarly
contention.
Plato and Aristotle hold a cyclical view of human affairs. They allow that certain developments occur
spontaneously, but also see disaster and decline as inevitable. In the Laws, Plato proposes that human
society begins with the family, then moves through intermediate forms, and finally arrives at the
city-state. Not only is man a political animal as a matter of fact, it is also true that human excellence
is only possible within a city-state with a good constitution.
Large-scale natural events also play an important role in Plato and Aristotle's presentation of human
affairs. In the Statesman, Plato adopts the traditional Greek story of a golden age and a subsequent
decline, written down by Hesiod in Works and Days. Hesiod tells the story of five races of men: the
golden race (109–120), the silver race (121–139), the bronze race (140–155), the demi-gods (156–
169b), and the iron race (170–201). The golden race is the best of all, and the present race, the iron
race, is the worst. According to Plato's story, the ages described by Hesiod correspond to parts of a
cycle during which the earth rotates first in one direction and then in another. While the earth
moves in the first direction, the gods oversee the affairs of mankind. As a herdsman looks after his
flock, the gods tend to the needs of human beings. Because they are under the perfect care of the
gods, humans do not need to govern themselves. Plato suggests that the golden age, the era of the
golden race, occurred during such a period. When the earth changes course, a period of chaos ensues,
which corresponds to the end of the golden age. Finally, when the earth moves in the second
direction, people are left on their own. In the Laws, Plato does not return to this elaborate myth, but
endorses the view that “the human race has been repeatedly annihilated by floods and plagues and
many other causes, so that only a fraction of it survived”. Aristotle also entertains the possibility of
periodic flooding and suggests that myths may contain the remnants of the wisdom of destroyed
civilizations.
After Plato and Aristotle, the most influential early philosopher is St. Augustine of Hippo. In The
City of God against the Pagans(წარმართი), Augustine presents a radically new, Christian vision of
human history. Some humans, God's elect, are predestined for heaven. The rest of humanity is
predestined for damnation. Those who are saved belong to the “City of God” and those who are
damned belong to the “City of man”. Augustine rejects cyclical accounts of human affairs for a linear
one. He is especially concerned to repudiate the doctrine of eternal recurrence(მარაიული
გამეორება), which says that events identical in all respects repeat over and over again. He
emphasizes that the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ are unique occurrences and compares the
history of the elect to an individual life.
Insofar as it is linear, Augustine's narrative of salvation resembles doctrines of progress. But his
emphasis on the City of God contrasts with the worldly, inclusive vision of theorists of progress.
These theorists are concerned with humanity as a whole, rather than with a part of it. And their
focus is on earth rather than on heaven.
The writings on progress of the 18th century drew inspiration from the intellectual achievements of
the 16th and 17th centuries. During this time, Europe witnessed an explosion of scientific and
mathematical activity. In the natural sciences, the main fields of investigation were physics and
astronomy. Major figures included Copernicus (1473–1543), Galileo (1564–1642), Kepler (1571–
1630), and Newton (1642–1727). Newton synthesized the work of the previous thinkers to bring the
behavior of bodies on earth and bodies in space under a single scientific law, the law of universal
gravitation.
The discoveries of these scientists had broad implications. First of all, the success of the new physics
in unifying distinct phenomena and predicting behavior vindicated an underlying paradigm of
scientific investigation and explanation. Second, the rapid gains encouraged an optimistic view of
humans' capability to understand and shape their world.
Two thinkers of the French Enlightenment, Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727-81), and Marie Jean
Caritat (1743-1794) suggest that philosophical progress is the deepest condition of scientific progress
They assert that all human knowledge is grounded in experience. Although neither author rigorously
defines human well-being, both believe that, over the long term, scientific discoveries and political
freedom reinforce each other and together further it. Turgot considers the role that political
institutions play in advancing science. He thinks that individual genius moves science forward.
Political institutions are important to scientific progress insofar as they allow geniuses to flourish.
Variation in scientific achievement is to be explained not by the concentration of genius but by the
institutions that either suppress or encourage it. Despotic government is bad for genius, while
republics nurture it. Condorcet also remarks that free institutions are the native environment of
scientific discovery (1795). In turn, the growth of scientific knowledge will advance political freedom
(Turgot).
Turgot and Condorcet also hold that short-term decline can be part of a pattern of long-term
improvement. In the intellectual realm, the path to truth is rocky, and errors are frequently the first
result of reflection.
The Scottish and French Enlightenment were roughly contemporaneous and grappled with the same
social phenomena.
David Hume (1711–1776), which are characterized by both naturalism and skepticism. Hume's essays
on political questions reflect his general philosophical orientation. Hume explores the topic of social
development in various interesting ways.
In “Of the Rise and Progress of the Arts and Sciences,” he connects political and intellectual
development. He begins with the presumption that scientific and artistic progress requires a
background of political security. He argues that the arts and sciences cannot arise in a society without
the rule of law. Hume also asserts that no monarchy can develop the rule of law on its own, while
republics must develop the rule of law if they are to survive at all. He concludes that the arts and
sciences first emerge in republics, not monarchies.
Hume thinks that countries can affect each other's progress. For instance, competition can spur
greater progress, and isolation can cause a country to stall. On the other hand, countries can
intimidate each other into inactivity. Hume also asserts that the arts and sciences cannot progress
indefinitely in a single country. One they reach a certain height, members of the next generation are
too intimidated by their predecessors to strike out on their own.
Adam Smith (1723–1790) is often regarded as an economist, but in fact he began his career as a
philosopher. His first work, The Theory of the Moral Sentiments, addressed the philosophy of moral
judgment and action. It is therefore not surprising that the Wealth of Nations, the work on economic
growth for which he is best known, has a deeper philosophical resonance.
Smith's central observation is that, in economic life, it often happens that individuals in pursuit of
their self-interest nevertheless contribute to the common good. It is as though they are “led by an
invisible hand” to take socially beneficial actions. For instance, Smith argues that the division of labor
is the spontaneous outcome of the human “propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for
another”. Humans engage in this activity for self-interested reasons. But growth in the productivity
of labor in a society is largely due to a greater division of labor. It is because of a greater division of
labor, Smith contends, that the poorest members of European countries are richer than the richest
members of societies in other parts of the world.
Failure to see the work of the invisible hand will lead to unwise policies. Smith says that, in the
absence of government intervention, self-interest leads each nation to produce only the goods in
which it has a comparative advantage. Self-interested behavior in the presence of government
attempts to support domestic industries actually results in a worse outcome.
Smith's emphasis on spontaneous improvement in economic life warrants treating him as a theorist of
progress. But, given his worries about mercantilism, it is clear he thinks that this type of development
is fragile. Nations will not maximize their wealth unless they have the wisdom to allow spontaneous
growth to occur.
The details of the development toward the peaceful federation are given by Immanuel Kant's (1724–
1804) universal history. Kant argues that, for the most part, human psychology and the natural
environment, rather than human reason, could have driven the human race forward. First, he
attributes progress to the “unsocial sociability” of human beings. Humans are social because they
cannot develop their capabilities in isolation. Yet they are unsocial because they always want to get
their own way. Kant maintains that a philosophy of progress can accelerate progress.
The 19th-century writers on progress took up and elaborated the notion that conflict is an essential
part of a progressive narrative. Hegel (1770–1831) is an example of such a writer. According to Hegel,
the world as a whole is in the process of development through conflict. Part of the world's
development is the self-realization of its spiritual aspect, known simply as Geist, or Spirit. The
freedom of Spirit is achieved through the achievement of free social institutions and free human
beings. So, we look to human history to understand the realization of Spirit. Conversely we recognize
that the self-realization of Spirit, an entity not reducible to humanity, is the true meaning of human
history.
The state is crucial to Hegel's philosophy of history. For Hegel, the state is the “march of God. At any
point in time, a state or group of states represent the highest point achieved by humanity thus far.
History, according to Hegel, is driven by ideological development. Ideological—and therefore
historical—change occurs when a new idea is nurtured in the environment of the old one, and
eventually overtakes it. Thus development necessarily involves periods of conflict when the old and
new ideas clash.
Finally, in contrast to Kant, Hegel thinks that war is more than an engine of progress. Hegel argues
that, without war, individuals in liberal societies become self-absorbed and weak, unwilling to work
for the common good. There is moreover no outlet for human aggression.
According to Karl Marx (1818–1883), the fundamental fact about a society at a given moment is not
its ideological orientation but rather its “productive forces”, by which Marx means its material and
technological resources. Over the long run, the productive forces determine other aspects of the
society, starting with the relations of production, the informal and formal rules that define and
regulate property.
Like Hegel, Marx asserts that conflict drives historical development. But in Marx's account, conflict
occurs when the productive forces outgrow the relations of production. A different class of society
represents each side of the conflict. The class that benefits from the outmoded relations of production
seeks to maintain them, while the losing class seeks to destroy them and replace them.
Among 19th-century thinkers, the French sociologist Auguste Comte (1798–1857) puts relatively
little emphasis on violence and struggle as a source of change. Comte actually coined the term
“Sociology” to describe the scientific treatment of human societies and their development. Comte’s
real contribution is to claim that intellectual development should be understood as change in the
form of explanation employed by individuals seeking to understand the world. The form of
explanation effects social life insofar as it corresponds to a way of predicting and manipulating events.
While Comte holds that the driving force of human progress is intellectual development, he asserts
that progress itself consists in moral improvement. Comte refrains from claiming that humans are
becoming subjectively happier. Comte claims that human excellence is exercising the uniquely
human capacity for reason. The human race is progressing because humans are becoming more
rational and less emotional.
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), Comte's contemporary, admired his progressive philosophy of history
and shared his respect for scientific expertise. But Mill was disappointed by Comte's basic distaste for
democratic freedom and individuality. Unlike Comte, Mill thought that a strong, scientifically
oriented society could be a liberal democracy. Such a society would best maintain the gains already
achieved and nurture further improvement.
Mill thinks that it is impossible to find a single set of institutions that is progressive for all times and
places. The most that we can do is to specify what institutions are best for societies at a given level of
civilization. Mill controversially argues that despotic governments may push “barbarians” to the next
level of civilization. But Mill argues that in more advanced societies, free institutions promote further
progress. They do so by allowing ideological conflict, which is a powerful engine of ideological
development. Mill worries about the transition from one set of institutions to another. Civilizations
can reach a certain level of development and then stagnate because they do not undergo institutional
change.
Despite his reputation as a classic Victorian progressive, Mill is more cautious and less deterministic
than the other 19th-century writers treated by this essay. He believes that continued improvement is
possible, but not by any means inevitable. Progress in Europe will come to a halt if institutions
silence society's creative members.
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) views human progress as one aspect of a universe in perpetual
development. Spencer constructs his explanatory framework from the biological sciences.
In “Progress, its Law and Cause,” Spencer makes a different argument. He defines progress as “an
advance from homogeneity of structure to heterogeneity of structure”. Progress occurs by way of
“successive differentiations”. The law of progress is simply that “every active force produces more
than one change - every cause produces more than one effect”. Spencer claims that all phenomena
exhibit the same development from the simple to the complex for this same reason.
Not all components of the writings on progress are equally problematic. Three seem especially
worthwhile. First, theories of progress draw attention to the power of the Western scientific
paradigm. Next, some theorists of progress formulate plausible normative standards for individual
domains of human life. Last, the writings on progress contain some of the most powerful statements
of the Enlightenment ideals of freedom, equality, and cosmopolitan justice.
Nothing is older in human history than seeing the past as exemplary (the "Golden Age"), the present
as deficient and then trying to restore conditions as they used to be. All traditional human societies
justify their practices either by saying, "that is the way things have always been," or, if origins are in
issue, by saying that the gods established things that way.
Much of the great conflict that has occurred in the 20th century, with almost unimaginable horror
and loss of life, has been from a great reaction in favor of the immemorial values against the
innovations of modernity, even as the latter themselves continue to be extended, often enough
through actual confusion between the older and the new principles.
Since history occurs as it does in great measure because of people's judgments about what is right and
wrong or good and evil, the middle way will consist of considering the relationship of those
judgments to what people intended and what actually happened. The inconsistencies in people's
beliefs and between their intentions, actions, and what really happens provide almost limitless
material for rational analysis, just as Socratic Method always began with what people actually
thought and did.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
PROGRESS
•
The world is so fast that there are days when the person who says it can't be done is
interrupted by the person who is doing it.- Anon.
•
The characteristic of scientific progress is our knowing that we did not know.- Gaston
Bachelard
•
It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then
dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you.Tony Benn
•
All progress is experimental.- John Jay Chapman
•
People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher or better than
themselves.- Tryon Edwards
•
The power to question is the basis of all human progress.- Indira Gandhi
•
Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.- Kahlil Gibran
•
Inside yourself or outside, you never have to change what you see, only the way you see it. Thaddeus Golas
•
A lot of what appears to be progress is just so much technological rococo.- Bill Grey
•
The greatest enemy of progress is not stagnation, but false progress.- Sydney J. Harris
•
Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do
something.- Robert A. Heinlein
UNIT 7. TYPES OF EVOLUTION AND EVOLUTIONARY PARADIGMS
Evolution is not a force but a process. Not a cause but a law. John Morley
There are four types of evolution emerge: physical, biological, social, and cultural. The knowledge of
each contributes to evolutionary theory. What are the essentials of an evolutionary paradigm for the
social sciences? According to R.C Lewontin, "There is a hierarchy of principles in the evolutionary
world view: change, order, direction, progress, and perfectibility. Evolutionary theories are
distinguished by how many of these are successively included as essential."
Change
The most basic evolutionary considerations center around "change". An evolutionary perspective
represents "a commitment to the instability of the present order as well as the past. In its simplest and
irreducible (უქცევადი) form evolutionism is the doctrine that change of state is an unvarying
მუდმივი characteristic of natural systems and human institutions and that such change follows
immutable უცვლელი laws" (Lewontin).
Change of state in societies means change in the economic, political, societal, and cultural structures
that constitute them. Structural change commonly represents innovation that is a departure from
standard operating procedures, and that is why the story of social evolution is a record of innovation.
But structural change, or the diffusion of innovation, also takes time, and that is why the observation
of change in human institutions invariably requires a long perspective.
Such an approach is clearly structuralist, in that it proposes that the persisting clusters წარმონაქმნი of
social behavior that are subject to social evolution form emergent (გამოჩენილი) social structures
whose properties cannot be deduced (დასკვნის გამოტანა) from the parts composing them, and that
it focuses on transformations of these structures.
Distinguishing "structural" from "routine" change helps to get over the problem that Lewontin raises,
of separating "real" change from a stasis (სტაგნაცია) that has only the appearance of change. But to
assert that evolution is structural change does not necessarily imply the statement that order is the
natural outcome of evolutionary processes. A more modest proposition would stipulate
(განპირობება) that such processes are concerned with adaptation, that is they might cope with a set
of identifiable problems, in relation to which they may, or may not, be adaptive.
Directionality
Lewontin's third principle, direction, also is a basic one. "By direction in evolution we mean the
concept that there is some natural linear order of states of the system and that an evolutionary
process can be described as passing through successive states in that order" in a line that is always
ascending (აღმავალი) or descending.
Directionality implies that evolution is not random (შემთხვევითი) and that it is a
(თანმიმდევრული cumulative process, whereby a succession of small changes can bring about great
transformations. A recipe is a set of ingredients, and a set of instructions. Instructions organize the
process in time thus giving it a temporal structure; evolution might be thought of as involving some
such instructions. Ingredients compose the conditions that induce evolution; they define the spatial
(სივრცული) aspect of that process.
Progress and perfectibility
There is a longstanding tradition that regards progress as an essential characteristic of evolution.
Progress is not identical with evolution, but is linked to it: it is evolution in a direction that satisfies
certain criteria of value. The prominent formulations of the idea of progress date from the era of the
Enlightenment. (სწავლა განათლება)
Today evolution is more often viewed as an endless process with no ultimate goal or destination. But
as Lewontin points out, if there is directionality on some criterion, then perfectibility cannot be
altogether ignored.
Macro- and micro-evolution
Macroevolution, meaning the evolution of all living groups, considers the question whether
evolution has occurred and by what pathways ბილიკი . Darwin's "tree of life" is the most general
graphic representation of the observed facts of evolutionary change.
Microevolution is the study of the mechanism of evolution. Darwin suggested that natural selection
was a chief mechanism that explains the non-random aspects of evolution, and thus supplied a
principal explanation for the observed variety of life forms, but we now think of it as one among such
mechanisms.
Evolutionary paradigms embody no claim to universal solution for every problem. They are fitted to
deal with some important problems, but are not necessarily the prime remedy (საშუალება) for many
others.
GLOBAL POLITICAL SYSTEM
The starting point for evolutionary analysis is the global political system viewed as a set of policies (or
strategies) for the (collective) management of global problems. These policies may be carried by a
variety of actors or agents: world empires, city-states or nation-states exercising, or aspiring to, global
leadership, alliances and coalitions, international regimes, and world organizations. But the emphasis
at this point is not on actors (that afford the ingredients for policy) but on the policies themselves
viewed as sets of instructions, or programs of global potential.
The instructions embodied in global policies provide the basis for the standard operating rules, or
routines, of the global political system. Variation and innovation in these routines is the material for
global political evolution, and occurs as generations of policies succeed each other.
Global political system is a complex system, and therefore it evolves. The explanation of the evolution
of global politics rests upon the global political system belonging to a larger class of phenomena, that
of complex systems, all potential subjects of evolution. The argument has two aspects: global politics
evolves because it is a complex system; it evolves when "necessary conditions" are best satisfied.
Complex systems may be either orderly, or chaotic. Ordered (or equilibrium) systems follow a fixed
pattern and have no flexibility or capacity for change; chaotic systems are disordered and
unpredictable. Complex systems stand at the "edge of chaos" but are not themselves chaotic; they
have sufficient capacity for change to adapt to new conditions. World politics is neither an
equilibrium system, as postulated( მოთხოვნა) in traditional "balance-of-power" accounts, nor is it
anarchic, in the sense of being chaotic, but is in fact fluid, far from equilibrium, (წონასწორობა) and
flexible, in which order arises through fluctuations.(ყოყმანი)
Complexity has been defined as the ability to make transitions, that is to evolve. According to Murray
Gell-Mann, a "complex adaptive system" is a collection of simple parts that interact to form a complex
whole capable of learning about, and reacting to, the outside world.
The accumulation (დაგროვება) of countless innovations, large and small, leads to systems as
intricate (რთული, არეულ დარეული) as modern market economies or free democratic
communities.
Evolutionary process unfolds in accordance with an inner logic and/or sequential structure, in that
each phase creates the conditions for the next, always responding to new conditions in the
environment. Such a process requires some capacity to anticipate the future but no greater
motivation other than "search for a better life", or as Adam Smith put it, when accounting for what
prompts (ჩქრი) humanity to save, the ever-present "desire for bettering our condition".
If it is now established that complex systems are both path-dependent, and future-oriented, the
questions then becomes: what are the optimum (ხელსაყრელი) conditions required for the
occurrence of evolution?
There is no reason to believe that evolution is a random process, a matter of lucky accident, or
"manna(ციური მანნა)from heaven". According to Ervin Laszlo "evolution is not an accident but
occurs necessarily whenever certain parametric requirements have been fulfilled". These are for
complex systems: openness to energy flows, diversity in components, catalytic cycles, and feedback.
A chief characteristic of complex systems is heterogeneity.
Political evolution necessarily occurs in conditions of complexity. That also means that this is not an
attempt to explain evolution as the generation of complexity, nor seek to measure its progress by that
yardstick (საზომი სახაზავი); rather to take social evolution to be the property of complex systems
that, as occasions and conditions demand, may grow more or less complex, but that flourishes best in
certain specifiable conditions. It is the elucidation (განმარტება) of conditions hospitable to evolution
that is a first priority of the evolutionary theory.
Global politics is a constantly changing system of the human species with some parts of it evolving at
faster rates than others. Global politics is subject to an evolutionary process - it is subject to evolution,
and capable of evolution.
The interplay of global policies constitutes the global political system. It is changes in these policies,
changes that alter standard operating procedures, that need to be subjected to the greatest scrutiny.
Evolutionary processes involve the same mechanisms in different settings and in different time
frames. That is, the process of changing policies, or institutions, is not homogeneous but passes
through a number of distinct and sequenced phases of a learning experience, each strongly linked to
one of the evolutionary mechanisms.
A generation is a key temporal unit of evolution, because evolutionary processes are measured in
terms of such generations, and generational turnover seems a basic source of periodicity. The fact of
periodicity or oscillation (მერყეობა), or a constant rate of evolutionary change, in turn, accounts for
the synchrony that can be observed in co-evolution.
Conditions that favor political evolution in turn depend on other evolutionary processes that are
exogenous to it. In so far as leadership in global politics depends in part on economic leadership, then
the lead condition of a candidate economy is a function of its ability to produce global leading sectors;
in turn, leading sector expansion nests in yet other exogenous processes (the evolution of the entire
world economy, and of the world system).
EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION
These
two words, Evolution and Revolution, closely resemble one another, and yet they are
constantly used in their social and political sense as though their meaning were absolutely
antagonistic. The word Evolution is synonymous with gradual and continuous development in morals
and ideas, while Revolution implies changes more or less sudden in their action, and entailing some
sort of catastrophe. And yet is it possible that a transformation can take place in ideas without
bringing about some abrupt (მოულოდნელი) displacements in the equilibrium of life? Must not
revolution necessarily follow evolution, as action follows the desire to act? They are fundamentally
one and the same thing, differing only according to the time of their appearance. If, on the one hand,
we believe in the normal progress of ideas, and, on the other, expect opposition, then, of necessity,
we believe in external shocks which change the form of society.
If the word evolution is willingly accepted by the very persons who look upon revolutionists with
horror, it is because they do not fully realize what the term implies, for they would not have the
thing at any price. They speak well of progress in general, but they resent progress in any particular
direction. They consider that existing society, bad as it is, and as they themselves acknowledge it to
be, is worth preserving; it is enough for them that it realizes their own ideal of wealth, power or
comfort. As there are rich and poor, rulers and subjects, masters and servants, Caesars to command
the combat, and gladiators to go forth and die, prudent (ფრთხილი) men have only to place
themselves on the side of the rich and powerful, and to pay court to Caesar. Our beautiful society
affords them bread, money, place, and honor; what have they to complain of? They persuade
themselves without any difficulty that everyone is as well satisfied as they. In the eyes of a man who
has just dined all the world is well fed. What does moral evolution matter to him? To evolve a
fortune is his one ambition!
But if the word evolution serves but to conceal (დამალვა) a lie in the mouths of those who most
willingly pronounce it, it is a reality for revolutionists.
No doubt it may sometimes happen that all is perfectly quiet. On the morrow (დილა) of a massacre
few men dare put themselves in the way of the bullets. When a word, a gesture are punished with
imprisonment, the men who have courage to expose themselves to the danger are few.
At first sight it would appear so natural that a good understanding should be established amongst men
without a struggle. There is room for us all on the broad bosom (გულმკერდი)of the earth; it is rich
enough to enable us all to live in comfort. It can yield sufficient harvests to provide all with food; it
produces enough fibrous plants to supply all with clothing; it contains enough stone and clay for all
to have houses. There is a place for each of the brethren at the banquet of life. Such is the simple
economic fact.
What does it matter? Some say. The rich will squander at their pleasure as much of this earth as suits
them; the middle-men, speculators and brokers of every description will manipulate the rest; the
armies will destroy a great deal, and the mass of the people will have the scraps that remain. "The
poor we shall have always with us," say the contented, quoting a remark which, according to them,
fell from the lips of a God. We do not care whether their God wished some to be miserable or not.
We will re-create the world on a different pattern! "No, there shall be no more poor! As all men need
to be housed and clothed and warmed and fed, let all have what is necessary, and none be cold or
hungry!"
It is certain that the actual world is divided into two camps, those who desire to maintain poverty, i.e.
hunger for others, and those who demand comforts for all. The forces in these two camps seem at
first sight very unequal. The supporters of existing society have boundless estates, incomes counted
by hundreds of thousands, all the powers of the State, with its armies of officials, soldiers, policemen,
magistrates, and a whole arsenal of laws and ordinances. And what can the artificers of the new
society, oppose to all this organized force? Does it seem that they can do nothing? Without money or
troops they would indeed succumb if they did not represent the evolution of ideas and of morality.
They are nothing, but they have the progress of human thought on their side.
The external form of society must alter in correspondence with the impelling force within; there is
no better established historical fact. The sap makes the tree and gives it leaves and flowers; the blood
makes the man; the ideas make the society. And yet there is not a conservative who does not lament
that ideas and morality, and all that goes to make up the deeper life of man, have been modified since
"the good old times." Is it not a necessary result of the inner working of men's minds that social forms
must change and a proportionate revolution take place?
There was a time when the great majority of men were born and lived as slaves, and had no other
ideal than a change of servitude. It never entered their heads that "one man is as good as another."
Now they have learnt it, and understand that the virtual equality bestowed by evolution must be
changed into real equality, thanks to a revolution. Instructed by life, the workers comprehend certain
economic laws much better than even professional economists. Is there a single workman who
remains indifferent to the question of progressive or proportional taxation, and who does not know
that all taxes fall on the poorest in the long run? Bitter experience has caused him to know quite
enough of this inevitable law of political economy.
freedom of the human will is now asserting itself in every direction; it is preparing not small and
partial revolutions, but one universal Revolution. It is throughout society as a whole, and every
branch of its activity, that changes are making ready.
Force reigns, say the advocates of social inequality! Yes, it is force which reigns! proclaims modern
industry louder and louder in its brutal perfection. But may not the speech of economists and traders
be taken up by revolutionists? The law of the strongest will not always and necessarily operate for the
benefit of commerce. "Might surpasses right," said Bismark, quoting from many others; but it is
possible to make ready for the day when might will be at the service of right.
If there’s one phrase planners hear most often, it’s probably the six words ‘We’re looking for
evolution, not revolution’. Fair enough, different businesses move at different speeds. However, the
more we understand about the way the world works, the more we realize that we can’t have
evolution without the occasional revolution.
There are points in time when evolution makes a leap, usually as a response to cataclysmic
environmental changes or accelerated variation in a species caused by disease or interbreeding. These
leaps ‘punctuate’ the equilibrium of steady-state evolution. They are, in effect, the revolutions that
help make evolution happen.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
MY PASSAGE: 1
*confusing
*well-written
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION

Historians will have to face the fact that natural selection determined the evolution of
cultures in the same manner as it did that of species.- Konrad Lorenz

Evolution is not a force but a process. Not a cause but a law.- John Morley

The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution.Hannah Arendt

Revolution begins with the self, in the self.- Toni Cade Bambara

A reform is a correction of abuses; a revolution is a transfer of power.- Edward George
Bulwer-Lytton

You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy. You must have a
democracy in order to have a revolution.- G. K. Chesterton

The worst of revolutions is a restoration.- Charles James Fox

The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal.- Erich Fromm

A great revolution is never the fault of the people, but of the government.- Johann von
Goethe

Whether a revolutions succeeds or fails people of great hearts will always be sacrificed to it. Heinrich Heine

We used to think that revolutions are the cause of change. Actually it is the other way
around: change prepares the ground for revolution.- Eric Hoffer

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.- Franz
Kafka

A riot is the language of the unheard.- Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is easier to run a revolution than a government. - Ferdinand E. Marcos

Revolutions are brought about by men, by men who think as men of action and act as men of
thought.- Kwame Nkrumah

Revolutions are not made, they come.- Wendell Phillips

The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction.- Plato

All revolutions devour their own children.- Ernst Rohm

Revolutions have never lightened the burden of tyranny: they have only shifted it to another
shoulder.- George Bernard Shaw

In a revolution, as in a novel. the most difficult part to invent is the end.- Alexis de
Tocqueville
UNIT 8. QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR FUTURE (I)
The convergence of multiple world political trends in our century points toward a new, transformed
world order but one whose character has not yet developed sharp definition and vivid coloration.
What is certain is that the pace of change will challenge the wisdom of old beliefs and visions of the
world.
There are some questions posed about our future. These questions are based on the analyses of
contemporary world politics. How these questions are answered will shape world politics during this
century.
1. Are Nations-States Obsolete?
The changing environment of world politics undermines the traditional preeminence of the
territorial nation-state, the primary actor in world politics for more than three centuries.
One of the hallmarks of human history in the late twentieth century was the increasing
internationalization of the world: in production, trade, finance, technology, threats to security,
communications, research, education, and culture. One major consequence of this is that the mutual
penetration of economic, political, and social forces among the nations of the world is increasingly
salient; and it may be the case that the governments of nation-states are progressively losing degrees
of direct control over the global forces that affect them.
Can the nation-state cope with the challenges it now faces? Zbigniwe Brzezinski asserted that “we are
witnessing the end of the supremacy of the nation-state on the international scene” and noted that
“… the trend seems irreversible”. These views question the nation-state’s capacity to handle global
challenges.
The nineteenth-century French sociologist Auguste Comte argued that societies create institutions to
address problems and meet human needs, and that institutions disappear when they can no longer
perform these functions.
‘The sovereignty of states is eroding. A wide variety of forces has made in increasingly more difficult
for any state to wield power over its people and address issues it once considered its sole prerogative.
Among these forces are the communications revolution, the rise of transnational corporations,
increasing migration, economic integration, and the global nature of economic and environmental
problems.
The increasing lack of control, an inability to solve pressing problems, and the fact that few states’
boundaries or interests coincide with the nationalities within have exacerbated mistrust of political
leaders and institutions in many states. Governments are perceived as not representing the interests
of, not delivering security to, and not providing for the well-being of their constituents. As a result,
peoples are looking elsewhere for representation of their views and provision of their needs, further
eroding the authority of states.
Other forces infuse the nation-state with vigor and encourage its persistence, however. “Obviously in
some respects the nation-state is flourishing and the others it is dying”, observes French political
scientist Pierre Hassner (1968), adding, “it can no longer fulfill some of the most important traditional
functions. Yet it constantly “assumes new ones which it alone seems able to fulfill.”
2. Is Interdependence a Cure or a Curse?
Global Interdependence lies at the heart of the internationalization of domestic politics. It poses a
singular threat to the nation-state. Interdependence expands the range of global issues while making
their management more difficult, as mutual vulnerabilities reduce states’ autonomy and curtail their
control of their own destinies.
From one perspective, global interdependence may draw the world’s diverse components together in
pursuit of mutual survival and welfare. Awareness of the common destiny of all, alongside the
inability of sovereign states to address many shared problems through unilateral national action, may
energize efforts to put aside national competition. Conflict will recede, according to this reasoning, as
few states can afford to disentangle themselves from the interdependent ties that bind them together
in the common fate on which their welfare depends. From this perspective, then, we should welcome
the continued tightening of interstate linkages, for they strengthen the seams that bind together the
fragile tapestry of international relations.
From another, more pessimistic perspective, interdependence will not lead to transnational
collaboration, regardless of how compelling the need or how rewarding the benefits may be. Instead,
contact and mutual dependence will bread conflict. The absence of a community of nations remains,
and nostalgia for the more autonomous nation-state abounds. Under conditions of fierce competition
and resurgent nationalism, the temptations to seek isolation from foreign economic dependence by
creating barriers to trade and other transactions may be irresistible. So, too, may be the temptation to
use force.
Thus, the tightening web of global interdependence foretells both opportunity and danger. If, on
balance, the advantages of interdependence outweigh the disadvantages, then leaders must harness
the means for accelerating its development. Conversely, if global interdependence undermines nation
and international welfare and security, they must try to contain and perhaps reverse its effects.
3.What Is the “National Interest”?
What goals should nation-states pursue? In earlier times, the answer was easy: The state should
promote the internal welfare of its citizens, provide for the common defense, and preserve the
nation’s values and way of life.
Leaders pursue the same goals today, but increasingly their domestic and foreign policy options are
limited. We live in an age of tradeoffs, as many problems can be resolved only at the risk of
exacerbating others. Under such conditions, the quest for narrow self-advantage often carries
prohibitively high costs. No country can long afford to pursue the quest for power in ways that
reduce the security and welfare of its competitors.
Those who questioned orthodox definitions of the national interest in the past seldom found support,
but this is changing. As the eminent anthropologist Margait Mead mused, “Substantially we all share
the same atmosphere today, and we can only save ourselves by saving other people also. There is no
longer a contradiction between patriotism and concern for the world”.
H. Carr (1939), a pioneering political realist, was convinced of the realism of idealism, maintaining
that opposition to the general interest of humankind does not serve one’s self-interest. Martin Luther
King Jr. urged that “injustice anywhere is a treat to justice everywhere”.
4. Is Technological Innovation a Blessing or a Burden?
Technological innovations, like interdependence, offer solution to some problems but cause others.
Technology is now, for better or worse, the principle driving force behind the ongoing rapid
economic, social, and political change. Like any irrepressible force, the new technology can bring us
undreamed benefits but also inflict irreparable damage. It can create new ways of preventing disease
but also new ways of destroying others in war. Discoveries in microelectronics, information
processing, transportation, energy, agriculture, communications, medicine, and biotechnology
profoundly affect our lives and shape our future.
New technologies propel growth and alter behavior patterns. Still, there appears to be a fundamental
lag between the current rate of technological change and the rate of adjustment to these changes
among decision-makers. The technological catalyst of change will promote progress only if it is
properly and constructively managed and if the interconnectedness of technological innovation and
economic, political, and military imperatives is recognized.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
MY PASSAGE: 1
*confusing
*well-written
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
POLITICS

To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.-Anon.

Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.-Henry Adams

Modern politics is, at bottom, a struggle not of men but of forces. The men become every year
more and more creatures of force, massed about central powerhouses. The conflict is no
longer between the men, but between the motors that drive the men, and the men tend to
succumb to their own motive forces.-Henry Adams

In politics the middle way is none at all.-John Adams

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by
promising to protect each from the other.-Oscar Ameringer

Nothing is irreparable in politics.-Jean Anouilh

A constitutional statesman is in general a man of common opinions and uncommon abilities.Walter Bagehot

The politician is like an acrobat : he keeps his balance by saying the opposite of what he
does.-Barres

A political leader must keep looking over his shoulder all the time to see if the boys are still
there. If they aren't still there, he's no longer a political leader.-Bernard Baruch

Vote for the man who promises least. He'll be the least disappointing.-Bernard Baruch

Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable...the art of the next best. -Otto von Bismarck

In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.-Napoleon Bonaparte

The most important political office is that of private citizen.-Louis D. Brandeis

It doesn't matter what I say as long as I sound different from other politicians.-Jerry Brown

A promising young man should go into politics so that he can go on promising for the rest of
his life.-Robert Byrne

Politics and the fate of mankind are shaped by men without ideals and without greatness.
Men who have greatness within them don't go in for politics.-Albert Camus

Religion is organized to satisfy and guide the soul - politics does the same thing for the body.Joyce Cary

A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next
month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.-Sir
Winston Churchill

Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed
once, but in politics many times.-Sir Winston Churchill

Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others their principles for the
sake of their party.-Sir Winston Churchill

A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.-James Freeman
Clarke

The highest political buzz word is not liberty, equality, fraternity or solidarity; it is service.Arthur H. Clough

What we need in appointive positions are men of knowledge and experience with sufficient
character to resist temptations.-Calvin Coolidge

Politics is far more complicated than physics.-Albert Einstein

Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights
and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our
national heritage. -Dwight D Eisenhower

An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in
prolonging the lives of the poultry.-George Eliot

Let us not forget that we can never go farther than we can persuade at least half of the people
to go.-Hugh Gaitskell

There are times in politics when you must be on the right side and lose.-John Kenneth
Galbraith

Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory. -John Kenneth Galbraith

Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him.Charles De Gaulle
WAR IDIOMS

All's fair in love and war
Prov. Cliché In some situations, such as when you are in love or waging war, you are allowed to be
deceitful in order to get what you want. (Often said as an excuse for deception.)
I cheated on the entrance exam, but I really want to get into that school, and all's fair in love and
war. To get Judy to go out with him, Bob lied and told her that her boyfriend was seeing another
woman. All's fair in love and war.

all-out war
total war, as opposed to limited military actions or threats of war.
We are now concerned about all-out war in the Middle East. Threats of all-out war caused many
tourists to leave the country immediately.

an act of war
Lit. an international act of warlike violence for which war is considered a suitable response.
To bomb a ship is an act of war.
Fig. any hostile act between two people.
"You just broke my stereo!" yelled John. "That's an act of war!"

Councils of war never fight
Prov. A group of people charged with crucial decisions often cannot act decisively.
We tried to convince the boss not to form a committee, but to decide himself. We knew that councils
of war never fight.

declare war against someone or something and declare war on someone or something
Lit. to formally announce that one will fight a war with someone or some country.
A group of countries declared war against the aggressor.
Fig. to announce a serious campaign against a type of person or a serious problem.
The president declared war against crime and criminals. The pressure group declared war on waste.

go to war (over someone or something)
to wage a war over someone or something.
We aren't going to go to war over this, are we? Do you want to go to war over Sarah? Is she that
important to you?

If you want peace, (you must) prepare for war.
Prov. If a country is well armed, its opponents will be less likely to attack it.
Wilbur was always arguing with those of his friends who believed in disarmament. "Getting rid of
our weapons won't promote peace," he would say. "If you want peace, you must prepare for war."

make war (on someone or something)
Lit. to attack someone or something and start a war.
The small country's generals made war on the United States, hoping for foreign aid when they lost
the war.
Fig. to actively oppose someone or something.
The police made war on violent street crime.

war against someone or something
to fight against someone or something; to oppose someone or something.
That country is always warring against its neighbors. Why do you want to war against the city
council?

war over someone or something
to fight about who is to get someone or something.
Stop warring over Tom. He refuses to play on either team. There is no point in warring over the
contract.

war with someone
to fight or dispute with someone.
Ruth is always warring with someone, usually about something trivial. Please don't war with me!

a battle/war of nerves
a situation in which two competing groups of people try to defeat each other by frightening and
threatening each other without taking action.
This has become a battle of nerves with neither side seeming willing to back down.

a turf war
a fight or an argument to decide who controls an area or an activity.
The recent shootings in the city are part of a turf war between two competing gangs.

a war of words
a long argument between two people or groups (often + between ).
The war of words between the two rivals for the presidency continues to dominate the news
bulletins. (often + over ) The article describes the war of words over acid rain.

All's fair in love and war
something that you say which means behavior that is unpleasant or not fair is acceptable during an
argument or competition.
We weren't cheating, we were just playing to win. Anyway, all's fair in love and war.

have been in the wars
someone, especially a child, who has been in the wars, has been hurt.
You poor little boy, you have been in the wars!
UNIT 9. QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR FUTURE (II)
5. Of What Value IS Military Power?
Military might in the past enabled states to exercise influence, and dominate others. Today the
destructiveness of nuclear weapons makes their use risky. Security is a psychological phenomenon,
but does the acquisition (შენაძენი) of more weapons augment (მიმატება) it? Or are preparations for
war and defense responsible for the security dilemma that all countries face?
To be sure, most leaders agree with the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who argued that “a
people without walls is a people without choice”. Hence most assume that preparing for war is
necessary for peace. Today, the threat of force often lacks credibility. Military power has become
impotent(უძულური) by its very strength. And if military power is impotent, (უძლური) why pay
the price of vigilance (სიფხიზლე)? Since no amount of military might can guarantee a state
invulnerability, preparations for war can be assessed only in terms of other consequences. Trant,
former secretary general of the United Nations noted that “the massive sums (ხარჯები) devoted to
armaments … serve to feed the escalating arms race, to increase insecurity, and to multiply the risks
to human survival”.
6. Will Geo-economics Supercede (ჩანაცვლება) Geopolitics?
Through most of recorded history, countries have competed with each other militarily for position
and prominence (დიდი მნიშვნელობა) in the global hierarchy of power. Word politics, accordingly,
has largely been a record of countries preparing, waging, and, recovering from wars with each other.
Military was equated (გათანასწორება) with prestige, and military conquest was regarded as a means
to hegemonic (წამყვანი) rule. Perhaps now, however, the relationship of economic to national
security and national structure has changed rather profoundly. Successful trading states in the
competitive global marketplace are the world’s leaders. Economically dynamic states lead in their
ability to defend themselves and to exert military and diplomatic pressure along with their economic
might. Successful trading states command international respect; they enjoy that position and
prominence that traditionally was associated with large standing armies. With commercial clout
(დარტყმა) also comes political influence.
To some, the next battlefield in world politics will center on economic issues. National destinies will
be determined by commercial competition, not military conquest. To the extent that so-called geoeconomics continues to grow in importance and impact relative to conventional geopolitics, the
foreign politics of countries will be required to change.
Whether those transformations will produce a more secure and prosperous world remains to be seen.
Trade partners may understand that their best interests lie in trading – not squabbles – with each
other. As wealth is converted into political muscle nationalistic pride can give rise to competition and
self-assertiveness. Economic interdependence and tight commercial relationships can collapse in
trade disputes and political rivalry, especially in periods of recession. Yet, regardless of the direction
that geo-economics eventually takes, the shift of priorities to the economic dimensions of
international relations is certain to influence the pyramid of twenty-first-century power.
7. Is War Obsolete? (ხმარებიდან გასული)
As noted, ideals and institutions wither away when they cease to serve their intended purpose, as the
examples of slavery, dueling, and colonialism illustrate. Is war subject to this same phenomenon?
Since World War II, legal prohibitions against the use of military force have expanded, and war and
interventions have been largely confined to battles among and in developing countries.
Whether the seemingly unthinkable use of today’s most destructive weapons has truly made war
unthinkable is, of course, debatable. Instead, war may eventually disappear in another, far more
frightening way – because resort to weapons of mass distruction will obliterate (განადგურება)
humankind. Thus the puzzle is when and by what means war will become obsolete. As Martin Luther
King Jr. put it, ‘The choice is either nonviolence or nonexistence’.
8. Can Culture Conflict Be Controlled?
Throughout the world’s history, when distinct cultures have come into contact, the collisions have
sparked communication. At times, this has produced a healthy respect for diversity, as the members
of each cultural tradition have learned from each other, to their mutual benefit. But on many other
occasions, familiarity has bred contempt. Especially when followers embraced the ethnocentric view
that their own group’s values are inherently superior, animosity and disrespect for differences have
been characteristic. Often clash and warfare followed.
Today the ideological contest between communism and capitalism has disappeared, and ancient
cultural cleavages (დაყოფა) and hatreds have reappeared. Tribalism (ტრაიბალიზმი), religious
fanaticism, and hypernational ethnicity are again on the move. Ethnic conflict and secessionist
revolts (აჯანყება)
are prevalent (მიღებული), and they are now the world’s greatest killers.
Hypernationalist beliefs rationalize large-scale violence and the subjugation of other nationalities.
With ethnocultural contact and clashes have come “ethnic cleansing (გაწმენდა)” efforts to destroy
unprotected subgroups and even genocide. Hypernationalistic movements respect neither liberty nor
life.
Because most states are multiethnic societies, the predictable consequence of ethnonationalism is the
disintegration of existing states into smaller and smaller units.
Of great concern therefore is whether the international community has the modicum of moral
outrage necessary to put an end, through concerted action, to the ethnic and cultural conflict that
now rages out of control. Will a humanitarian concern for the plight of ethnic minorities crystallize
in collaborative responses? Or will the victims of cultural clash perish in a sea of indifference?
9. The End of Empire?
Much of world history is written in terms of dreams of world conquest, the quest of rulers for world
domination, and the efforts of others to prevent it. Some leaders continue to think and act as though
they believe others still actively plan territorial conquest. But the past five decades have witnessed
the great powers’ race to relinquish their overseas empires, not expand them. Even the Soviet Union,
the last world empire has now disintegrated – by choice, not by coercion from abroad.
Why has the quest for empire seemingly ended? A plausible explanation is that empire did not
benefit the imperial powers materially.
It is highly unlikely that the modern world will revert to the imperialism of the past. But if
imperialism, empire building, and territorial acquisition are no longer in state’s self-interest, why
should it continue to prepare for military defense against the imagined expansionist aims of others?
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
POLITICS

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.Charles De Gaulle

Ninety percent of politics is deciding whom to blame.-Meg Greenfield

In politics, being ridiculous is more damaging than being extreme.-Roy Hattersley

He serves his party best who serves his country best.-Rutherford B. Hayes

Politics is like a race horse. A good jockey must know how to fall with the least possible
damage. -Eduard Herriot

Politics is the profession of those who have neither trade nor art.-Muhammad Hijazi

The essence of statesmanship is not a rigid adherence to the past, but a prudent and probing
concern for the future.-Hubert Humphrey

Ninety percent of politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.-Henry Kissinger

It is hard to say why politicians are called servants, unless it is because a good one is hard to
find.-Gerald F. Lieberman

Honest statesmanship is the wise employment of individual meanness for the public good.Abraham Lincoln

The politician who never made a mistake never made a decision.-John Major

All fundamental political problems are problems of relationships; therefore, all fundamental
solutions have to involve fundamental changes in relationships.-David Mathews

Politics is the enemy of the imagination.-Ian McEwan

A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both necessary elements of
a healthy state of political life.-John Stuart Mill

Political image is like mixing cement. When it's wet, you can move it around and shape it,
but at some point it hardens and there's almost nothing you can do to reshape it.-Walter F.
Mondale

The right man, in the right place, at the right time, can steal millions.-Gregory Nunn

Political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.-George Orwell

Politics is the science of urgencies.-Theodore Parker

In politics people give you what they think you deserve and deny you what they think you
want.-Cecil Parkinson

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed
by your inferiors.-Plato

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some
more tunnel.-John Quinton

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards. If you disgrace
yourself, you can always write a book.-Ronald Reagan

People start parades - politicians just get out in front and act like they're leading. -Dana
Gillman Rinehart

In politics a straight line is the shortest distance to disaster.-John P. Roche

I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end
good will triumph.-Margaret Thatcher

The essential ingredient in politics is timing.-Pierre Elliott Trudeau

It takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for
fifteen years.-Harry S Truman

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.-Source Unknown

People with high ideals don't necessarily make good politicians. If clean politics is so
important, we should leave the job to scientists and the clergy. -Michio Watanabe
POLITICAL METAPHORS
Relating to the executive

eminence grise: literally, "grey man," from French. Colloquially, the power-behind-thethrone. An official close to the president or monarch who has so much power behind the
scenes that he or she may double or serve as the monarch.

figurehead: a leader whose powers are entirely symbolic, such as a constitutional monarch.

puppet government: a government that is manipulated by a foreign power for its own
interests.

star chamber: a secretive council or other group within a government that possesses the
actual power, regardless of the government's overt form.
Relating to legislation

blank check: legislation which is vaguely worded to the point where it can be widely
exploited and abused.

grandfather clause that allows a piece of legislation not to apply to something old or
incumbent.

poison pill a provision in an act or bill which defeats or undermines its initial purpose or
makes it politically unacceptable.

pork barrel legislation or patronage: acts of government that blatantly favor powerful special
interest groups.

rider that attaches something new or unrelated to an existing bill.

sunset clause to prevent legislation from being permanent.

a trigger law that will automatically "spring" into effect once some other variable occurs.
Relating to elections

character assassination: spreading (usually) manufactured stories about a candidate with the
intent to destroy his or her reputation in the eyes of the public.
•
dark/black horse: a candidate who is largely ignored by opponents yet makes significant gains.
•
gerrymandering: reshaping district lines to include/exclude segments of voters that may
help/hurt your chances of election.
•
landslide victory: a huge victory for one side.
•
muckraking: uncovering and publicizing scandalous information about a person or
organization
•
mudslinging: harsh partisan insults exchanged between candidates.
•
parachute candidate / carpetbagger: a candidate who runs for election in an area which he or
she is not a native resident or has no ties.
•
paper candidate: a candidate who puts no effort into his campaign and is essentially just a
name on the ballot.
•
riding coattails: victories by local or state politicians because of the popularity of more
powerful politicians.
•
sacrificial lamb: a candidate who is put forward to run for office, by his party or others, but
who has no chance of winning.
•
stalking horse: a perceived front-runner candidate who unifies his or her opponents, usually
within a single political party.
•
grassroots: a political movement driven by the constituents of a community.
•
astroturfing: formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create
the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior.
•
stooge: To mislead a candidate or campaigner, or to masquerade as a constituent interested in
an issue being promoted.
Relating to world politics
•
hard power: using military force against another country as form of punishment.
•
soft power: using exonomic and diplomatic sanctions against another country as a form of
punishment.
•
big stick diplomacy: flexing muscles militarily against other countries to show dominance.
•
Relating to the issues
•
wedge issue: an issue which turns members of a party against each other.
•
third rail: an issue which is so controversial, pursuing it or even attempting to address it could
end one's political career.
•
straw man: the practice of refuting an argument that is weaker than one's opponent actually
offers, or which he simply has not put forth at all. A type of logical fallacy.
•
sacred cow: an institution which few dare question, because it is so revered.
Others
•
bread and circuses: satisfaction of shallow or immediate desires of the populace at the expense
of good policy; also, the erosion of civic duty and the public life in a populace.
•
Government in the sunshine: a government which keeps all its records and documents open
and easily accessible by the public.
•
lame duck: a politician who has lost an election, or who is serving his last term in an office
where the law limits the number of times he may succeed himself, and is simply waiting
for his term to expire.
•
melting pot: a society in which all outsiders assimilate to one social norm.
•
salad bowl: a society in which cultural groups retain their unique attributes (opposite of
melting pot theory).
•
Spin (public relations), a heavily biased portrayal of an event or situation.
•
witch-hunt: a hysterical pursuit of political enemies
UNIT 10. QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR FUTURE (III)
10. What Price Preeminence?
The quest for world conquest has waned, but national competition for status in the global peeking
order continues. Prestige, respect, and wealth remain the core values of many states and the central
goals for which they strive. To become or remain first in the international arena means competing for
the political and economic means to bend others to one’s will.
The potential long-term results of this competition are disquieting. The problems of primacy are
numerous, the disadvantages of advantage many. With global leadership comes the burden of
responsibility and the necessity of setting the peace and maintaining world order. Moreover,
dominant countries are often the targets of other states resentment, envy, hostility, fear, and blame.
The quest for military superiority may lose much of its rationale in the aftermath of the Cold War.
Today, the increasingly high costs of military preeminence have quieted its appeal in many national
capitals. Military spending reduces industrial growth, weakens economic competitiveness, and,
ultimately, undermines states’ ability to pursue and preserve dominance.
11. Is The World Preparing for the Wrong War?
To preserve peace, one must prepare for war. That remains the classical formula for national security.
But would states not be wiser to prepare to conquer the conditions that undermine prosperity,
freedom, and welfare? ‘War for survival is the destiny of all species’, observes philosopher Martin J.
Siegel. ‘In our case, we are courting suicide by waging war against one another. The world powers
should declare war against their common enemy – the catastrophic and survival-of-the-fittest forces
that destroyed most of the species of life that came before us’.
India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi predicted that ‘either nuclear war will annihilate the human
race and destroy the earth, thus disposing of any future, or men and women all over must raise their
voices for peace and for an urgent attempt to combine the insights of different civilizations with
contemporary knowledge. We can survive in peace and goodwill only by viewing the human race as
one, and by looking at global problems in their totality’.
The war of people against people goes on. Humankind may consequently plummet, not because it
lacks opportunities, but because of its collective inability to see and to seize them. ‘Perhaps we will
destroy ourselves. Perhaps the common enemy within us will be too strong for us to recognize and
overcome’, the eminent astronomer Carl Sagan lamented. ‘But’, he continued, ‘I have hope … Is it
possible that we humans are at last coming to our senses and beginning to work together on behalf of
the species and the planet?’
12. What Is Human Well-Being in an Ecologically Fragile Planet?
The once popular ‘limits to growth’ proposition has been replaced by the maxim of sustainability,
which emphasizes ‘the growth of limits’. Thus sustainable development’ means learning to live off the
earth’s interest, without encroaching on its capital.
Gross national product is the common measure of economic well-being throughout the world and ‘is
closely bound up with human welfare … Human welfare has dimensions other than the economic
one. But it is rightly held that the economic element is very important, and that the stronger the
economy the greater the contribution to human welfare’ (Daly and Cobb, 1989).
A rise in a state’s economic output has different consequences for people currently living in poor
societies compared with those in rich societies. For the inhabitants of most Third World countries,
growth in GNP may mean food, better housing, better education, and an increased standard of living.
Because the affluent people living in the First World already have these basic amenities, additional
increment to their income usually lead to the satisfaction of comparatively trivial needs.
The impact on the global commons of population growth and the continued striving for economic
growth is critical nonetheless. ‘The incremental person in poor countries contributes negligibly to
production, but makes few demands on world resources’, explains economist Herman Daly. By
contrast, ‘the incremental person in the rich country contributes to his country’s GNP, and to feed his
high standard of living contributes greatly to depletion of the world’s resources and pollution of its
spaces’. In both cases, then, continued population growth is detrimental – for poor societies, because
it inhibits increases in per-capita income and welfare, and for rich societies, because in further
burdens the earth’s delicate ecological system. Unbridled exploitation and consumption, unhinged
from responsibility to others are ultimately self-destructive.
An alternative to perpetual growth for the world’s rich countries is a steady-state economy that seeks
a constant stock of capital and population combined with as modest a rate of production and
consumption of goods as possible.
These ideas challenge the very foundations of Western civilization. Sustainable development is a
more realistic prospect, but even it will be hard to realize. Minimally, it requires rethinking the
meaning of human welfare. Economic welfare remains critical to human welfare, but the first
question to ask is whether growth in the economy as measured by GNP actually contributes to the
total well-being of people. Sustainable economic welfare, like sustainable development, requires
sensitivity not only to economic growth but also to natural resource depletion, environmental
damage, and the value of liberty. But is there an alternative? Can growth in a finite world proceed
infinitely? And how many people can a delicately balanced ecosystem support?
13. The End Of History?
To many observers, the history of world affairs is the struggle between tyranny and liberty. The
contest has taken various forms since antiquity: between kings and sovereign peoples;
authoritarianism and republicanism; despotism and democracy; ideological principle and pragmatic
governance. History is a battle for the hearts and minds of civilization, an ideological contest for the
allegiance of humankind to a particular form of political, social, and economic organization.
‘The twentieth century saw the developed world descend into a paroxysm of ideological violence, as
liberalism contended first with the remnants of absolutism, Then bolshevism and fascism, and finally
an updated Marxism that threatened to lead to the ultimate apocalypse of nuclear war’ (Fukuyama).
But today the world can see the triumph of Western liberal democracy.
Today we can say that history has indeed “ended” in the sense that democratic governments
practicing free market capitalism at home and free trade abroad will become the rule throughout the
world. To believers of the liberal faith, this is heartwarming. World order, they believe, can be
created best by free governments practicing free trade. As Woodrow Wilson argued, making the
world ‘safe for democracy’ would the world itself safe.
14. A Reordered Global Agenda?
The paradox of contemporary world politics is that a world liberated from the paralyzing grip of the
Cold War must now face a series of threatening challenges. As former U. S. President Bill Clinton
summarized the globe’s circumstances, “Profound and powerful forces shaking and remaking our
world. And the urgent question of time whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy”.
The potential impact of new threats is potent because emerging trends suggest that, alongside the
continuing threat of arms and ethnic and regional conflict, nonmilitary dangers will multiply.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
LIBERTY
•
Absolute liberty is absence of restraint; responsibility is restraint; therefore, the ideally free
individual is responsible to himself.-Henry Adams
•
I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom
of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary
premise and confirmation.-Mikhail Bakunin
•
There is nothing with which it is so dangerous to take liberties as liberty itself.-Andre Breton
•
Liberty must be limited in order to be possessed.-Edmund Burke
•
The effect of liberty to individuals is that they may do what they please: we ought to see what
it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations.-Edmund Burke
•
We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.-Angela Y. Davis
•
In my youth I stressed freedom, and in my old age I stress order. I have made the great
discovery that liberty is a product of order.-Will Durant
•
One's liberty should end when it becomes the curse of his neighbor.-Frederick Farrar
•
Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.-Harry Emerson Fosdick
•
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve
neither Liberty nor Safety.-Benjamin Franklin
•
Where liberty is, there is my country.-Benjamin Franklin
•
The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization. It was greatest before there was any
civilization.-Sigmund Freud
•
I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind
you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!-Barry Goldwater
•
Show me the country that has no strikes and I'll show you the country in which there is no
liberty.-Samuel Gompers
•
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.-David Hume
•
The right to be heard does not autmatically include the right to be taken seriously.-Hubert
Humphrey
•
The more liberty you give away the more you will have.-Robert G. Ingersoll
•
We are as great as our belief in human liberty -- no greater. And our belief in human liberty
is only ours when it is larger than ourselves.-Archibald MacLeish
•
Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.-James
Madison
•
I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough to want to force it
upon anyone.-H. L. Mencken
•
Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.-Charles Montesquieu
•
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.-George Bernard Shaw
•
We must remember that a right lost to one is lost to all.-William Reece Smith, Jr.
•
Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.-Henry David
Thoreau
•
Liberty consists in wholesome restraint.-Daniel Webster
•
Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.-William
Allen White
•
Liberty never came from government. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The
history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.Woodrow Wilson
•
There can be no liberty that isn't earned.-Robert R. Young
•
Man cannot be free if he does not know that he is subject to necessity, because his freedom is
always won in his never wholly successful attempts to liberate himself from necessity.Hannah Arendt
•
The greatest blessing of our democracy is freedom. But in the last analysis, our only freedom
is the freedom to discipline ourselves.-Bernard Baruch
•
True obedience is true freedom.-Henry Ward Beecher
•
Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.-Aneurin Bevan
•
The free man is he who does not fear to go to the end of his thought.-Leon Blum
•
Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you
decide how to respond.-Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
•
Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.-Albert Camus
•
Just as war is freedom's cost, disagreement is freedom's privilege.-William Jefferson Clinton
•
You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man's freedom. You
can be free only if I am free.-Clarence Darrow
•
Of what use is freedom of speech to those who fear to offend?-Roger Ebert
•
Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.-Dwight D Eisenhower
•
So far as a person thinks; they are free.-Ralph Waldo Emerson
•
Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else.-Epictetus
•
No one is truly free, they are a slave to wealth, fortune, the law, or other people restraining
them from acting according to their will.-Euripides
•
No one who lives in error is free.-Euripides
•
Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of fear is a freedom.-Marilyn Ferguson
•
Freedom is just chaos with better lighting.-Alan Dean Foster
•
The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitudes.-Victor Frankl
•
Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.-Mahatma
Gandhi
•
Liberty has restraints but no frontiers.-David Lloyd George
•
Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something
which is above us; for by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and, by our very
acknowledgment, prove that we bear within ourselves what is higher, and are worthy to be
on a level with it.-Johann von Goethe
•
The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave. His fetters fall... freedom and
slavery are mental states.-Mahatma Gandhi
•
Only law can give us freedom.-Johann von Goethe
•
Freedom is fragile and must be protected. To sacrifice it, even as a temporary measure, is to
betray it.-Germaine Greer
•
The greatest Glory of a free-born People, Is to transmit that Freedom to their Children.William Havard
•
The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom. -G.
W. F. Hegel
•
Freedom is the opportunity to make decisions...-Kenneth Hildebrand
•
Who then is free? The wise man who can govern himself.-Horace
•
Freedom begins as we become conscious of it.-Vernon Howard
•
We clearly realize that freedom's inner kingdom cannot be touched by exterior attacks.Vernon Howard
•
When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.-Charles Hughes
•
The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom.-Lady Bird Johnson
•
Until economic freedom is attained for everybody, there can be no real freedom for
anybody.-Suzanne La Follette
•
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.-Abraham Lincoln
•
What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the
alternatives of choice.-Archibald MacLeish
•
You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his
freedom.-Malcolm X
•
Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold
ourselves.-Rollo May
•
A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him.-Ezra Pound
•
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.-Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.-Antoine De Saint-Exupery
•
Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.-Jean-Paul Sartre
•
The law will never make men free, it is men that have to make the law free.-Henry David
Thoreau
•
A slave is a free man if he is content with his lot; a free man is a slave if he seeks more than
that.-Source Unknown
•
Liberty is the right to choose, freedom is the result of that choice.-Source Unknown
•
Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.-Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet)
ECONOMICS
•
Economics and politics are the governing powers of life today, and that's why everything is so
screwy.-Joseph Campbel
•
There can be economy only where there is efficiency.-Benjamin Disraeli
•
No nation was ever ruined by trade.-Benjamin Franklin
•
In economics the majority is always wrong.-John Kenneth Galbraith
•
I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expense is equal to my
wishes.-Edward Gibbon
•
Commerce changes the fate and genius of nations.-Thomas Gray
•
Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of people remain in poverty,
while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance.-John Fitzgerald Kennedy
•
When someone says that the free market isn't working, what he means is that he doesn't like
the way the free market is working.-Nicolas Martin
•
Men cannot not live by exchanging articles, but producing them. They live by work not
trade.-John Ruskin
•
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those
who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.-Thomas
Sowell
MONEY
•
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.-P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum
•
The evidence unmistakably indicates that you have to spend money in order to make money.Srully Blotnick
•
Money never starts an idea; it is the idea that starts the money.-W. J. Cameron
•
All riches have their origin in mind. Wealth is in ideas -- not money.-Robert Collier
•
Successful people make money. It's not that people who make money become successful, but
that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.-Wayne Dyer
•
We estimate the wisdom of nations by seeing what they did with their surplus capital.-Ralph
Waldo Emerson
•
Thought, not money, is the real business capital...-Harvey S. Firestone
•
The importance of money flows from it being a link between the present and the future.-John
Maynard Keynes
•
A great fortune is a great slavery.-Seneca (Seneca the Elder)
•
Oh, I wish I were a miser; being a miser must be so occupying.-Gertrude Stein
•
The price we have to pay for money is sometimes liberty.-Robert Louis Stevenson
•
The lack of money is the root of all evils.-Mark Twain
•
There is nothing more demoralizing than a small but adequate income.-Edmund Wilson
UNIT 11. LAW AND DEMOCRACY
Lady Justice is the symbol of the judiciary. Justice is depicted as a goddess equipped with three
symbols of the rule of law: a sword symbolizing the court's coercive power; scales representing an
objective standard by which competing claims are weighed; and a blindfold indicating that justice is
(or should be) meted out objectively, without fear or favor, regardless of identity, money, power, or
weakness.
Law is a system of rules and guidelines, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes
politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between
people.
Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets.
Property law defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of personal and real
property. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and financial security, while tort law allows
claims for compensation if a person's rights or property are harmed. If the harm is criminalized in a
statute, criminal law offers means by which the state can prosecute the perpetrator. Constitutional
law provides a framework for the creation of law, the protection of human rights and the election of
political representatives. Administrative law is used to review the decisions of government agencies,
while international law governs affairs between sovereign states in activities ranging from trade to
environmental regulation or military action.
Legal systems elaborate rights and responsibilities in a variety of ways. A general distinction can be
made between civil law jurisdictions, which codify their laws, and common law systems, where judge
made law is not consolidated. In some countries, religion informs the law. Law provides a rich source
of scholarly inquiry, into legal history, philosophy, economic analysis or sociology. Law also raises
important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness and justice. "In its majestic equality", said
the author Anatole France in 1894, "the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in
the streets and steal loaves of bread." In a typical democracy, the central institutions for interpreting
and creating law are the three main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a
democratic legislature, and an accountable executive. To implement and enforce the law and provide
services to the public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these
organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a
vibrant civil society inform and support their progress.
Law has been honored from time immemorial, while democracy was regarded as rather controversial
both in the Antiquity and in Middle Ages. Yet, today everybody estimates it highly, both in the West
(honestly) and in such countries as the Democratic People Republic of Korea. However, to work well,
both Democracy and Law must follow the needs of people.
What happens if legal rules, although clear, are extremely complex and changeable? Then the citizens
face difficulties when rationally planning their actions. Certainly, very poor people have no money to
use for planning to minimize the tax they have to pay. Equally surely, very rich people have easy
access to skillful experts who help them to plan. But we average people become passive and hope that
everything will be all right.
The law is a realm of stability. Dynamic changes are a matter of politics. Law is not always politically
correct. It implies that legitimacy of the law is not identical with legitimacy of the political system.
The law has its own basic values.
One may also think about the tradition of advice, given to the rulers. One of them is: do not rely on
legitimacy of your power. Even if you are a legitimate ruler, you may become a tyrant.
Justice and freedom often enforce each other, but they also collide in some situations. Freedom is
good, perhaps it is the highest value, but it can create injustice. Justice to some often creates injustice
to others, and no considerations of justice justify radical restrictions of freedom.
Democracy is the same as the power of the people. This is the main idea of democracy. Majority Rule
is essential for democracy. One can justify it, as follows. First, it is an approximation of the calculus of
human preferences, often regarded as the core of morality. To decide what actions are morally good.
One must thus pay attention to both the number of people having certain preferences and to the
strength of the preferences. Second, political views compete with each other and it might be
practically impossible to prove which the right one is. A majority decision is then a good means to
achieve a peaceful solution. Pluralism of views is inevitable in the democratic society.
However, pluralism can degenerate to manipulation and chaos. We should think of ourselves as
responding to the multiplicity of values that historical traditions have presented us with, and should
try to take the next step under the pressure of the search for coherence.
In other words, modern societies display not only pluralism but also overlaps of values. We must deal
with overlaps of cultures in the law, among other things, as well as in commerce, the media, and the
World Wide Web. When speaking of pluralism and overlapping cultures, one may be referring to
cultural pluralism within a society or to the cultures characterizing different societies.
What is the worst case scenario? What happens if ordinary people start believing that justice is
nonsense, that politics is a game for the benefit of the players, that freedom is an illusion and that the
truth does not exist? People will then lose their trust in the political system. Some will become
cynical; others will wait for an autocratic “savior”.
Two institutional mechanisms protect our civilization: the law and democracy. Law has been
honored from time immemorial, while democracy was regarded as rather controversial both in the
Antiquity and in Middle Ages. Yet, today everybody estimates it highly, both in the West (honestly)
and in such countries as the Democratic People Republic of Korea. However, to work well, both
Democracy and Law must follow the needs of people.
What happens if legal rules, although clear, are extremely complex and changeable? Then the citizens
face diffi culties when rationally planning their actions. Certainly, very poor people have no money
to use for planning to minimize the tax they have to pay. Equally surely, very rich people have easy
access to skilful experts who help them to plan. But we average people become passive and hope that
everything will be all right.
The law is a realm of stability. Dynamic changes are a matter of politics. Law is not always politically
correct. It implies that legitimacy of the law is not identical with legitimacy of the political system.
The law has its own basic values.
One may also think about the tradition of advice, given to the rulers. One of them is: do not rely on
legitimacy of your power. Even if you are a legitimate ruler, you may become a tyrant.
Justice and freedom often enforce each other, but they also collide in some situations. Freedom is
good, perhaps it is the highest value, but it can create injustice. Capitalism both presupposes and
creates a high degree of freedom.
Justice to some often creates injustice to others, and no considerations of justice justify radical
restrictions of freedom.
Democracy is the same as the power of the people. This is the main idea of democracy. Majority Rule
is essential for democracy. One can justify it, as follows. First, it is an approximation of the calculus of
human preferences, often regarded as the core of morality. To decide what actions are morally good,
one must thus pay attention to both the number of people having certain preferences and to the
strength of the preferences. Second, political views compete with each other and it might be
practically impossible to prove which the right one is. A majority decision is then a good means to
achieve a peaceful solution. Pluralism of views is inevitable in the democratic society.
However, pluralism can degenerate to manipulation and chaos. We should think of ourselves as
responding to the multiplicity of values that historical traditions have presented us with, and should
try to take the next step under the pressure of the search for coherence.
In other words, modern societies display not only pluralism but also overlaps of values. We must deal
with overlaps of cultures in the law, among other things, as well as in commerce, the media, and the
World Wide Web. When speaking of pluralism and overlapping cultures, one may be referring to
cultural pluralism within a society or to the cultures characterizing different societies.
What is the worst case scenario? What happens if ordinary people start believing that justice is
nonsense, that politics is a game for the benefi t of the players, that freedom is an illusion and that the
truth does not exist? People will then lose their trust in the political system. Some will become
cynical; others will wait for an autocratic “saviour”.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
LAW

There is no nation so powerful, as the one that obeys its laws not from principals of fear or
reason, but from passion.-Charles Montesquieu

The severity of the laws prevents their execution.-Charles Montesquieu

Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of
real liberty.-Henry M. Robert

The law often permits what honor prohibits.-Bernard Joseph Saurin

To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Fish die when they are out of water, and people die without law and order.-The Talmud

The due process of law as we use it, I believe, rests squarely on the liberal idea of conflict and
resolution.-June L. Trapp
POWER

Voice of one, voice of none.-Proverb

The king goes as far as he may, not as far as he could.-Proverb

Though men now possess the power to dominate and exploit every corner of the natural
world, nothing in that fact implies that they have the right or the need to do so.-Edward
Abbey

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.-Lord (John Emerich Edward
Dalberg)

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the
weak.-John Adams

The price of power is responsibility for the public good.-Withrop Aldrich

Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.-Saul Alinsky

Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires, but according to our powers.-Henri
Frederic Amiel

Nothing destroys authority more than the unequal and untimely interchange of power
stretched too far and relaxed too much.-Francis Bacon

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power
without morality is no longer power.-James Baldwin

Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true.-Honore de Balzac

The purpose of getting power is to be able to give it away.-Aneurin Bevan

Power is the by-product of understanding.-Jacob Bronowski

Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to
control affairs.-Andrew Carnegie

Power will intoxicate the best hearts, as wine the strongest heads. No man is wise enough,
nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.-Charles Caleb Colton

No man is wise enough, or good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.-Charles Caleb
Colton

Power has only one duty --to secure the social welfare of the People.-Benjamin Disraeli

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for
a short while.-Albert Einstein

Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are
endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a
particular society.-Michel Foucault

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only
by small children and large nations.-David Friedman

Our power is in our ability to decide.-Richard Buckminster Fuller

Power doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt power.-William Gaddis

Whenever there is authority, there is a natural inclination to disobedience.-Thomas C.
Haliburton

The law always limits every power it gives.-David Hume

Authority and power are two different things: power is the force by means of which you can
oblige others to obey you. Authority is the right to direct and command, to be listened to or
obeyed by others. Authority requests power. Power without authority is tyranny.-Jacques
Maritain

Civilization is nothing more than the effort to reduce the use of force to the last resort.-Jos

Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard
a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.-George Orwell

The measure of a man is what he does with power.-Pittacus

Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of
national security, is doubly dangerous.-William Proxmire

To achieve, you need thought. You have to know what you are doing and that's real power.Ayn Rand

You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them. But
when you've robbed a man of everything he's no longer in your power -- he's free again.Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

Power is what men seek and any group that gets it will abuse it.-Lincoln Steffens

Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control; these three alone lead one to sovereign power.Alfred Lord Tennyson

There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries,
but an organized peace.-Woodrow Wilson

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.-Mao Zedong
LEGAL AND LAW IDIOMS
•
after the fact
after something (a crime etc.) has occurred
We were told, after the fact, that the company would not give any money to the fire victims.
•
an act of God
an event or accident due to natural causes for which no human is responsible and which could not
have been avoided by planning ahead (a storm, an earthquake, a volcano etc.)
The insurance company refused to pay the money because they said that the forest fire was an act of
God.
•
assemble a case (against someone)
to gather the evidence needed to make a legal case against someone
The lawyers were unable to assemble a case against the man.
•
assume liability
to accept the responsibility for paying the cost of something
The business refused to assume liability for the dangerous products.
•
at arms length
at a distance, avoiding intimacy or familiarity
We purchased the property at arm's length and we are not involved in any management decisions.
•
bail (someone) out or bail out (someone)
to pay a sum of money that allows someone to get out of jail or stay out of jail while waiting for a trial
The family of the accused criminal paid much money to bail him out.
•
beyond a reasonable doubt
a legal phrase meaning that something is almost certain and that the proposition being presented in
court must be proven enough that there is no reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonable person
that the defendant is guilty of a crime
The judge sent the man to jail because he believed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the man had
committed the crime.
•
bona fide
in good faith, without any element of dishonesty or fraud (bona fide is from Latin)
The mediator asked the two sides in the dispute to make a bona fide effort to solve the dispute.
•
a breach of promise
the breaking of a promise which may also be a breach of contract
The couple was accused of a breach of promise when they broke the contract to buy the
condominium.
•
a breach of the peace
causing a disturbance, violent or disorderly behavior
The man was charged with a breach of the peace when he began fighting with the store clerk.
•
break the law
to fail to obey the law
The woman was forced to quit her job after it was discovered that she had broken the law.
•
build a case (against someone)
to gather the evidence needed to make a legal case against someone
The legal team was working hard to build a case against the suspected car thief.
•
burden of proof
the necessity to prove a disputed fact as required by the laws of evidence
The burden of proof during the trial fell on the man who had accused his employee of theft.
•
by the book
following all the rules when you do something
Our lawyer is very good and he does everything by the book.
•
case of mistaken identity
a case where you incorrectly identify someone
The young man was arrested in a case of mistaken identity.
•
causing a disturbance
an offence committed by fighting/screaming/shouting/swearing or being drunk in public
Several fans were arrested for causing a disturbance after the football game.
•
caveat emptor
"let the buyer beware" (from Latin), a buyer of something is responsible to examine the goods that he
or she has purchased
Caveat emptor is a good concept to remember when you are buying a used car.
•
cease and desist
a legal phrase which means to stop doing something and not start again - often used in the form of a
cease and desist order
The woman's husband was given a cease and desist order to stop bothering her.
•
circumstantial evidence
indirect evidence
The court case was difficult to win because most of the evidence was circumstantial evidence.
•
citizen's arrest
an arrest which may be made by an ordinary citizen without a warrant when somebody commits a
crime
The man tried to make a citizen's arrest of the violent homeless man.
•
civil action
legal action that deals with private or civil matters
The couple decided to take civil action regarding their neighbor's noisy dog.
•
civil law
the area of the law which deals with civil or private matters such as violations of contracts (different
from criminal law)
The lawyer had much experience in civil law but almost no experience in criminal law.
•
class action lawsuit
a lawsuit that is made on behalf of a group of persons in a similar situation or who have suffered a
similar wrong
The workers filed a class action lawsuit against the company for damage to their health.
•
come clean (with someone about something)
to be completely honest with someone about something, to confess something to someone
The man decided to come clean with the police when he confessed everything about the crime.
•
commercial law
the area of law that governs business and commercial transactions
The lawyer has specialized in commercial law since he first became a lawyer.
•
common law
the law that is not written in statutes but is based on custom and court decisions of the past (most
often with its origin in the old unwritten laws of England)
We were able to make a decision about our case by researching previous cases of common law.
•
common property
real property owned by a group of tenants in a condominium or subdivision which everyone has the
right to use, land that is owned by the government which everyone can use
The exercise machine is common property and anyone in the apartment complex can use it.
•
community property
property belonging jointly to a married couple or acquired during their marriage
The couple decided to divide some of their community property and give it to their children.
•
comparative negligence
in a civil lawsuit where the fault (negligence) of the two parties is taken into account in assessing
damages
The judge determined that it was a case of comparative negligence and the landlord and the tenant
both had to pay damages.
•
conclusive evidence
evidence that is so strong that it proves the point in question beyond a reasonable doubt
The witness offered conclusive evidence that led to the conviction of the criminal.
•
conditional sale
a contract where the title to the goods being sold will not go to the purchaser until a certain
condition is fulfilled
The sale of the house was a conditional sale and I had to talk to my bank manager before the deal was
complete.
•
consecutive sentences
sentences that are given to someone with one sentence following immediately after the other
sentence
The criminal was given three consecutive sentences for the murder of the young girls.
•
contempt of court
disobedience of the orders and authority of the court, disrespect for the court process
The man was in contempt of court when he was several hours late for the trial.
•
crack down on (someone or something)
to enforce a rule or law more strictly
The police have decided to crack down on speeding cars.
•
criminal law
the law that is concerned with crimes by people against the state or society with the purpose to
punish the offender
The university law department has the best criminal law library in the country.
•
dangerous offender
a person who has been convicted of a violent crime and is a continuimg threat to others
Several dangerous offenders escaped from the prison last week.
•
disorderly conduct
violent conduct that disturbs the peace of society or the community
Some football fans were charged with disorderly conduct after the fight during the game.
•
disturbing the peace
disorderly or violent or threatening conduct that disturbs the peace and tranquillity of the
community
Two men were arrested for disturbing the peace when they got into a fight in front of the shopping
mall.
•
draw up an agreement/contract
to put something into writing, to prepare a written statement
My lawyer is helping me to draw up an agreement to buy the small business.
•
due process (of law)
the rights that each person has to be protected by the law
The man was accused of theft by his employer but he knew that he was entitled to due process of law
and would be found to be innocent.
•
examination for discovery
an oral examination that is taken under oath in which each side to a lawsuit has the right to examine
the other side's witnesses before a trial or hearing
The man spent several hours in an examination for discovery in connection with his case.
•
expert witness
an expert or specialist whose opinions are used as evidence in a trial or hearing
The lawyer called in an expert witness to look at the handwriting of the accused criminal.
•
extenuating circumstances
special circumstances that explain an irregular or improper way of doing something
The man was able to avoid going to jail for stealing the money because of extenuating circumstances.
•
false arrest
unlawful physical detention
It was a case of false arrest when the man was arrested as a suspect in the robbery.
•
false pretenses
intentionally misrepresenting the facts in order to cheat or defraud someone
The woman was acting under false pretenses when she went to the bank and asked for a loan.
•
false witness
a person who deliberately offers false or inaccurate evidence
The man was accused of being a false witness after he testified at the trial.
•
fee simple
absolute title or ownership of real estate
The property was sold fee simple by the woman.
•
fine print
the part of a document or contract that may contain important information but is not easily noticed
because the print is small
It is a good idea to read the fine print before you buy something.
•
for cause
reasons which the law accepts as justified
The man was fired from his job for cause after several violations of his contract.
•
free and clear
owning something fully with no money owed or other restrictions on the item or property
My parents own their home free and clear.
•
give notice
to inform an employer or employee or landlord or tenant that a contractual agreement will end
The woman gave notice that she will leave her job next month.
•
go into effect
to becomes effective or in use (used for a law or rule)
The new parking law will go into effect at midnight.
•
go legit
to begin operating as a legitimate or honest business after operating as an illegal business
The man decided to go legit and get the proper license for his small business.
•
go on record
to make an official statement rather than an informal one
The mayor of the city will go on record to oppose the new convention center.
•
goods and chattels
personal property (as opposed to land and buildings)
The goods and chattels of the man were seized by the bank to pay for his bad loan.
•
grace period
a period of time (often about 30 days) after a bill or something is due
There was a 30-day grace period in which to pay the speeding ticket.
•
gray area
an area of a subject that is not clearly defined
Smoking near public buildings is a gray area that the smoking law does not deal with.
•
grounded in fact
based on facts
The decisions that were made during the legal discussions were grounded in fact.
•
grounds for (something)
a cause or reason for legal action such as a lawsuit
The fact that the woman lied to her employer was grounds for firing her from her company.
•
have a brush with the law
to have a brief experience or encounter with the law
The man had a brush with the law when he was a teenager.
•
have a case (against someone)
to have strong evidence that can be used against someone
The police do not have a case against the young woman.
•
(not) have a leg to stand on
not to have the facts to support or win an argument or a legal charge that is made against you (usually
used in the negative)
The apartment manager tried to evict the young family but he did not have a leg to stand on and he
lost the case in court.
•
have a run-in with (the law or someone)
to have a bad or unpleasant encounter with the law or someone
The man had a run-in with the law when he was on his holiday.
•
have custody of (someone or something)
to have the right to guard or protect or care for someone or something
The woman has custody of her two children.
•
have (someone) dead to rights
to prove someone absolutely guilty
The police had the man dead to rights when they saw him stealing the car.
•
have (someone) in one's pocket
to have control over someone
The businessman has the mayor of the city in his pocket.
•
have the right to (do something)
to have the freedom or legal right to do something
The lawyer did not have the right to ask personal questions during the trial.
•
a hung jury
a jury that is divided and unable to agree on a verdict
There was a hung jury after the trial of the famous singer.
UNIT 12. RULES AND GUIDELINES
Naturally, the law itself, literally speaking, cannot protect people, but, laws are made up as we evolve
socially in order to set guidelines or "rules" for each of us to live by, in other words, to protect us all
from each other. Laws are carefully thought out and made up as need arises to provide, basically,
safety and financial security. Laws are enforced by various levels of government. This system works
only if everyone adheres to the rules.
Unfortunately, there are some people who either forget or intentionally ignore the law for their own
selfish gains. A simple example is the person who is speeding in their car. If, for any given situation,
there is a "law" or "rule", stop and fully consider how ignoring the rule might negatively impact or
hurt another person. Then reverse the situation and consider that you might be that person.
Millions of people who declare themselves innocent citizens actually commit around seven crimes a
week.
The most common offences are speeding, texting or talking while driving, dropping litter,
downloading music illegally or riding bicycles on the pavement. Other daily crimes include eating or
drinking while driving, parking on pavements or not wearing a seatbelt.
Some people are not at all bothered by the fact they are breaking the law, considering these crimes to
be minor, in other words, people don't consider these crimes to be illegal because everyone else does
it as well. These so-called minor crimes are committed so regularly, they have almost become legal,
which seems to be the reason why so many people aren't fazed when they break the law.
Why do people break laws? Some scientists believe that a deficiency in the brain causes criminals to
be the way they are, and that they're like that from birth. In the case of murderers their frontal lobe
isn't working properly, causing them to be the heartless creatures.
Other people think that it's brought on by the way the person grew up. Something happened that
made someone have that urge; whether it was years of abuse or just a moment of impaired thinking,
it doesn't matter - something happened. However this is not always the case, since not everyone who
suffered hardships as a child grows up to be a cold-blooded killer.
The influence of role models, especially parents, in the development of a child is important.
“Identification” theory describes a process by which a child internalizes what his parents represent to
him, then emulates in his behavior what he has learned. Psychologists emphasize that it is parents
who constitute the most important role models in that their influence is crucial to their offspring’s
personality development. Thus, if a child has as a negative role model - an irresponsible or criminal
parent, he is likely to identify with that individual and become like him.
But fortunately we can observe the situations when many youngsters become honest, are
hardworking, and become givers rather than takers even though their parents have modeled the
opposite qualities.
There is no denying that role models are important. But they do not necessarily determine how we
will turn out.
CRIMES AND CRIMINALS
Criminality exists along a continuum from petty crimes to mass murder. There are individuals who
think radically differently from people who are basically responsible. They see themselves as being
like the hub of a wheel around which everything must revolve. They are uncompromising determined to prevail in every situation, whether by deception, intimidation, or brute force. They
see the world as being like their own personal chess board with people and objects as pawns.
These individuals have only the most primitive concept of injury to others, e.g. leaving someone with
broken bones lying in a pool of blood. They have no concept of the ripple effect of injury to direct
and indirect victims. They lack a concept of what a “victim” is. In fact, when they are apprehended
and held accountable, they regard themselves as victims. What is particularly astonishing is that
criminals believe that, at heart, they are decent people. “If I thought of myself as evil, I couldn’t
live,” remarked one. Once they are being interrogated, these individuals may confess to their crimes,
even concede wrongdoing, and understand they will be punished. But when you ask them, “Do you
think you are a bad person,” the answer is always, “No.” How does a man who inflicts massive
damage retain the view he is a good guy? He may point to the fact that he works, goes to school,
contributes to a charity, or attends church. He may cite his musical, artistic, or other talents. He
may boast about good deeds that he does for others. Mainly, he will point to crimes he has not yet
committed and say that anyone who engages in that behavior is a bad person. One man said,
“Anyone who knocks a little old lady down and steals her purse should be strung up.” He professed
he would never do that. But he did break into homes, sometimes when the terrified residents were
present, and rob them of their valued property. But that was all right, to his way of thinking, because
he did not assault them on the street.
Certainly, then, there are individuals who willingly choose to do evil things, who are not forced into
behaving in a destructive manner but relish building themselves up the expense of others. “Take my
crime away, and you take my world away,” one criminal asserted. Another commented, “Crime is
like ice cream; it’s delicious.” Both of these individuals had escaped apprehension after committing
scores of crimes. The impact of what they had done impacted hundreds of people as well as society at
large.
People who make crime a way of life are constantly angry. They do not always show it, but inside
they are seething at a world that, from their perspective, does not give them what they are due.
Let’s consider the criminal’s mind set. He expects others to operate on his terms. Criminals generally
regard anything that does not go their way as a personal blow to their ever precarious self-esteem.
In the course of a day for all of us, something does not turn out as we expect or hope. We learn to
cope with adversity responsibly, trying not to make a bad situation worse. Adversity provides
challenges, sometimes opportunities.
If you expected life to go smoothly from the time you arose until you went to bed, think about how
many times during a single day you might encounter frustration and disappointment. Traffic backs
up, so you are late to work. Your supervisor is in a bad mood. Your son forgot his book bag and calls
in a panic. One could go on and on with the annoyances we encounter almost routinely. Life is full
of problems to be solved.
This is not the criminal’s perspective. He perceives routine obstacles and frustrations as personal
slights. He is permanently angry at a world that does not accommodate his unrealistic expectations.
That anger simmers inside, metastasizing like a cancer. Eventually, the criminal gives vent to his rage
in one form or another. As one man said, “I don’t get mad. I get even.” Frustration often results in a
verbal outburst or in an eruption of violent behavior. The anger is always present.
Because the criminal looks at life in a highly self-centered manner, he rarely thinks of the greater
good. Put nine criminals on a baseball team, and each will consider himself the captain. If he is
challenged, he may quit. The criminal is determined to prevail in any situation whether by cunning,
intimidation, or brute force. Interdependence is anathema to his entire way of life. He may appear to
relate well to others in order to achieve a particular objective that he has at the time. But he is not a
reliable individual upon whom others may depend.
Even when a criminal performs well on a sports team or on a job, his objective is to advance his own
agenda. He may seem to care about other people but his main concern is himself. Success with the
team or on the job is never enough for him. He often bends or circumvents rules or policies - any
means to achieving his objectives.
LONERS
Information about the personality and motives of mass shooters is usually slow to dribble out.
Security and privacy issues make it difficult to learn a great deal about these individuals until a fair
amount of time elapses and sometimes not even then.
One thing we do hear in nearly every case is that the shooter was a “loner.” This aspect of his
personality is described in various ways - that he is shy, isolated, reclusive. We frequently hear that
these individuals were marginalized, not accepted by their peers and not well-liked in general.
An understanding of the mental processes of these killers will show that they have “marginalized”
themselves. They are secretive individuals who do not want others to know them. They may be
highly intelligent, achieve high grades in school, and even obtain responsible positions that draw on
their talents. However valued they may be for their accomplishments, they are only superficially
sociable, usually not even that.
These people lack empathy and rarely put themselves in the place of others. Determined to prevail in
any situation, they are uncompromising. They see themselves as special and look with contempt upon
others whom they do not think are as gifted as they are.
They are “loners” because they interact only minimally with other people. They see human
relationships as avenues for their own buildup. They do not believe that they have much to gain by
truly getting to know others. Usually, they just remain a mystery because they are so disengaged.
Some mass shooters appear to lack social or emotional reciprocity. These individuals seek to control
others, have unrealistic expectations, and pursue single-mindedly what they want with little regard
to the impact on other people. These individuals marginalize themselves, rejecting the world well
before the world rejects them.
We hear an offender explain, after the fact, that he assaulted someone because that individual
"disrespected" him. A criminal believes that he is a powerful, controlling person with whom others
must reckon. He perceives himself as the center of the universe around which all else rotates. He
demands that others agree. "Respect" means that others give him what he thinks he deserves. If his
lofty and unrealistic expectations are not met, he takes it personally - diminished as a human being.
He then becomes irate, blaming others for "disrespecting" him.
In the responsible world, respect is not based on having others prop up your image because you
demand that they do so. We respect people whom we esteem or admire for their achievements, noble
deeds, or for their strength of character. Respect is not demanded; it is earned.
"I can change from tears to ice and back again," said a man who had committed many types of crimes,
including rape. This individual had a soft spot for animals. He would nurse an injured dog to health.
He would become teary eyed during movies that were sad. And he was deeply moved by church
services that he attended regularly. Nonetheless, when it came to his intended victims, there was not
a shred of empathy.
One murderer refused to step on an insect because he "didn't want to kill anything living." Yet, after
gunning down a total stranger (who he later learned was a husband and father of two children)
during a robbery, he did not experience a moment of remorse.
The criminal does not know what moderation is! In his thinking and behavior, he goes to extremes. It
is critical to understand this aspect of his psychological makeup. In his mind, the criminal must be
number one or else he counts for nothing - an intolerable situation. You can see this even when he is
a child. If others don't play by his rules, he refuses to play at all. If he is not recognized as tops in any
endeavor that matters to him - e.g., sports, academics - then it isn't worth doing. Even in a menial
task in prison such as buffing a floor, it must shine. If someone steps on it before he has completed
the job, he becomes furious. He is indiscriminant in this view that everything he does must be tops
and recognized as such by others. Everything has the same importance. This is not a quest for
excellence but a result of his own pretensions.
The criminal demands that others recognize him as "number one" when it comes to work. If he walks
into a restaurant seeking a job, he believes that he should be the manager, not a waiter.
In even the smallest interactions, the criminal is determined to prevail. Thus, he does not know what
a discussion involves. He is insistent on proving his point, not exchanging views. Only what he thinks
and says matters. Others disagreeing with him he interprets as threatening, even on a trivial point.
People are either for him or against him. There are no in betweens.
DISCUSSION LEADER
The discussion leader’s job is to …
• read the text twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it;
• make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion;
• guide the discussion and keep it going.
Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings as you read.
MY QUESTIONS:
OTHER GENERAL IDEAS (Questions about the theme):
SUMMARIZER
The summarizer’s job is to …

read the text and make notes about the ideas.

find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the text.

retell the text in a short summary in your own words.

talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.
MY KEY POINTS:
MY SUMMARY
WORD MASTER
The word master’s job is to …

read the text, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or
that are important in the text;

choose five words that you think are important for this text;

explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group;

tell the group why these words are important for understanding this text.
Your five words do not have to be new or unknown words. Look for words in the story that really
stand out in some way. These may be words that are:

repeated often;

used in an unusual way;

important to the meaning of the text.
MY WORD: 1. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 2. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 3. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
MY WORD: 4. _______________________
MEANING OF THE WORD
REASON FOR CHOOSING THE WORD
PASSAGE PERSON
The passage person’s job is to …

read the text, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages;

make notes about at least two passages that are important for the text;

read each passage to the group;

ask the group one or two questions about each passage.
You might choose a passage to discuss because it is:
*important
*informative
*confusing
*well-written
MY PASSAGE: 1
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
MY PASSAGE: 2
REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE PASSAGE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGES
TRANSLATE THESE QUOTATIONS AND COMMENT ON THEM:
LAW

Where the law is uncertain there is no law.-Proverb

Written laws are like spider's webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and the poor, but
would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful.- Anacharsis

The law is reason, free from passion.-Aristotle

Laws are not invented. They grow out of circumstances.-Azarias

Laws are not masters, but servants, and he rules them, who obeys them.-Ward Becker

Laws and institutions, like clocks, must occasionally be cleaned, wound up, and set to true
time.-Henry Ward Beecher

Every law is an infraction of liberty.-Jeremy Bentham

The law was made for one thing alone, for the exploitation of those who don't understand it,
or are prevented by naked misery from obeying it.-Bertolt Brecht

Bad laws are the worst form of tyranny.-Edmund Burke

Laws, like houses, lean on one another.-Edmund Burke

When the severity of the law is to be softened, let pity, not bribes, be the motive.-Miguel de
Cervantes

I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis on the observance of the law
than they do upon its enforcement.-Calvin Coolidge

When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken.-Benjamin
Disraeli

Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.-Friedrich Engels

Laws too gentle, are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed.-Benjamin Franklin

Good laws make it easier to do right and harder to do wrong.-William Ewart Gladstone

Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose
they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.-Martin
Luther King, Jr.

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching
me, and I think that's pretty important.-Martin Luther King, Jr.

All that makes existence valuable to any one depends on the enforcement of restraints upon
the actions of other people.-John Stuart Mill
BUSINESS METAPHORS
•
Each business success buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem.
•
He's got a wonderful head for money.
•
Flattery is the infantry of negotiation.
•
Business is a combination of war and sport.
•
A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a gang with guns.
•
In selling as in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.We are
fantastically busy working hard to have leisure and do nothing; we fight a war to create harmony and
peace.
•
Individuals have riches just as we say that we 'have a fever', when really the fever has
us.
•
People in business are trying to be entertainers, while entertainers are trying so hard to
be businessmen.
•
If a punishing work environment is a prerequisite for success in your field, could it be
that you're in a game not worth winning?
•
American finance is like an guy who loses his job and instead of getting another job, he
buys everything on a credit card and then shows his wife his credit bills and says 'look, honey, how
great we're doing'.
•
We are selling our cows and chicken to buy milk. Selling income producing assets to
enjoy current consumption.
•
boiled.
The supervisor is like an egg: if you keep him in hot water long enough he gets hard
•
To increase business sales we must be like an ice-hockey player and skate where the
puck is going to be, not where it is.
•
I don't like to hire consultants. They're like castrated bulls – all they can do is advise.
•
Anyone who plays the stock market not as an insider is like someone who buys cows in
moonlight.
•
In a large company, the chief executive's salary is no market award for achievement, but
frequently a warm personal gesture by the individual himself.
•
The man with a toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty-
stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich.
•
Statistics are like prisoners under torture: with the right tweak you can get them to
confess anything.
•
The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
•
Barry's been sacked more times than Rome.
•
Working in that office was like going daily to the dentist to have root canal surgery on
the same tooth.
•
It is not work that kills men: it is worry. Work is healthy. Worry is rust upon the blade.
It is not the revolutions that destroys machinery, but the friction.
•
A recession is like an unfortunate love affair. It’s a lot easier to talk your way in than it
is to talk your way out.
•
Employee-of-the-month is an example of how you can be both a winner and a loser at
the same time.
•
Trading without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark, you know you are
doing it but nobody else does.
LEGAL AND LAW IDIOMS

implicate (someone) in (something)
to suggest that someone is involved in something or connected to something
The president of the company was implicated in the expense account scandal.

in abeyance
the temporary suspension of an activity or a ruling
My grandfather's estate settlement was in abeyance while the lawyers looked at his will in more
detail.

in accordance with (something)
conforming to something
The new contract was written in accordance with the new employment law.

in arrears
late or overdue (usually for bills and money)
My account at the department store is in arrears.

in bad faith
insincerely, with bad or dishonest intentions, with the intention to deceive someone
The manager was acting in bad faith when she refused to give the documents to the lawyer.

in consideration of (something)
after thinking about something
In consideration of the amount of time that was spent on my case they charged me a lot of money.

in custody of (someone or something)
being guarded or protected or cared for by someone or some group
The police put the man in custody for the night.

in debt
owing money
The woman is in debt to the furniture store.

in dispute
something that is in disagreement
Most parts of the contract are not in dispute.

in effect
a law that is necessary to obey, something that is exerting force or influence
The new law has been in effect for three months now.

in favor of (something)
in agreement with something
The members of the panel voted in favor of postponing the meeting.

in good faith
with good and honest intentions
I went to the mediation session in good faith in order to try and resolve the dispute.

in kind
in goods rather than in money
We were paid in kind for our work on the project.

in lieu of (something)
instead of something
In lieu of being paid for our extra work we were given extra time off.

in perpetuity
forever, eternally
The man was promised by the city that he would receive free parking in perpetuity.

in person
personally, yourself
The man was asked to appear in the courtroom in person.

in plain English/language
in simple and easy to understand language
The legal contract was written in plain English so that we could easily understand it.

in private
secretly, not openly or in public, confidentially
The discussion between the two judges took place in private.

in public
openly so others can see what you are doing, not secretly
The new smoking law does not permit smoking in public.

in receipt of (something)
having received something
My lawyer is in receipt of the documents that I sent him.

in reference to (something)
concerning/regarding/about something
The letter was in reference to my earlier request for legal advice.

in (someone's) name
in someone's ownership, as someone's property
We put the property in my name so that it would be easier to get a loan with it.

in the act of (doing something)
while doing something
The man was arrested in the act of stealing money from the cash register in the store.

in the right
on the legal or moral side of an issue, not guilty of something, not responsible for something
I believed that I was in the right so I decided to take the case to court.

in the wrong
on the illegal or wrong side of an issue, guilty of something, responsible for something
The man was in the wrong and was found guilty by the court.

in trouble with the law
having legal problems, due to be punished by the law
The teenager is often in trouble with the law.

in trust of (someone)
under the responsibility or care of someone
The money was given to the child in trust of his grandparents.

invasion of privacy
the act of doing something so that someone loses his or her privacy
Some people think that it is an invasion of privacy when there are video cameras in public places.

invest (someone) with the power or legal right to (do something)
to give someone the power or right to do something
The judge invested the police with the power to enforce the decision of the court.

jump bail
to fail to appear in court and therefore give up the money that you paid for bail
The criminal jumped bail and went to another city to live.

last will and testament
one's will (especially its latest edition) - a will is the legal term to describe the document that says
what a person wants to do with his or her property after they die
I went to a lawyer in order to write my last will and testament.

law-abiding
obeying the law
The couple were law-abiding citizens who never had any problems with the law.

a law unto oneself
someone who makes his or her own laws or rules
The manager was a law unto herself and she thought that she could do whatever she wanted.

lay down the law
to state firmly what the rules or laws are for something
We decided to lay down the law regarding the vacation schedule for our employees.

a leading question
a question to a witness designed to suggest or produce the reply desired by the questioner
The lawyer asked the witness a leading question but was told to stop by the judge.

legal age
the age when a person can do things such as buy alcohol or cigarettes or when they are responsible
for their actions and can borrow money etc.
The young men were not of legal age and could not buy cigarettes.

let (someone) go
to free someone from prison or from an arrest
The court decided to let the man go because there was no evidence to keep him in prison.

letter of the law
the literal interpretation or the words of a law but not necessarily the intent of those who wrote the
law
The lawyer always likes to follow the letter of the law.

lodge a complaint (against someone)
to make a complaint against someone
The man decided to lodge a complaint against the company that had built the apartment building.

a matter of record
a fact or something that is officially kept as a legal record and therefore can be proved
It is a matter of record about how much money the mayor spent on the foreign trip.

mineral rights
the right to take minerals or money from the minerals on one's property
The farmer owned all of the mineral rights on his property.

moral turpitude
behavior that is contrary to accepted rules of behavior
The judge accused the lawyer of moral turpitude because of the tactics that he used to defend his
client.

next of kin
someone's closest relatives or family members
The police notified the next of kin of the woman who was killed in the car accident.

null and void
worthless, canceled
The check which was written by the company was null and void.

of one's own free will/accord
by one's own choice
The woman signed the contract to buy the car of her own free will.

off the record
unofficial, informal
The judge told the lawyers off the record what they could expect the lawsuit to settle for.

offensive weapon
any weapon capable of being used to cause physical injury or harm
The young man with the knife was charged with carrying an offensive weapon.

on condition that
providing that
The man was not sent to prison on condition that he volunteer and do work in the community.

on probation
serving a period of probation - probation is when a person who is guilty of a crime is allowed to be
free but is supervised by the government and its probation officers
The man was on probation for robbing a small store last year.

on record
an official recorded statement or fact that everyone may know
The businessman was on record as having refused to accept any illegal money.

out on bail
released from jail after you pay the bail bond money - the bail bond is the money that you must pay
to guarantee that you will appear in court
The man was out on bail while he was waiting for his trial.

out on parole
out of jail but being supervised by the police
While the criminal was out on parole he was forced to meet with a social worker every week.

pay one's debt to society
to serve a sentence for a crime (usually in prison)
The man was forced to pay his debt to society by going to prison for three years.

penalty clause
a section in a contract specifing an amount of money to be paid if the contract is not fulfilled
There is a penality clause in our apartment rental agreement if we decide to move early.

post mortem
a medical examination of a body made after death to determine the cause of death
The authorities performed a post mortem on the dead man to try and determine the cause of his
death.

power of attorney
a legal document granting authority for one person to act as another's representative
The woman was given power of attorney over her mother's daily affairs.

a preliminary hearing
a hearing before a judge to determine if there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime
The man appeared at a preliminary hearing to determine the nature of the crime.

prima facie
at first view (prima facie is from Latin), something is assumed to be true in the absence of evidence to
the contrary
Prima facie, it seems that the man has enough evidence to take legal action against his employer.

privy to (something)
to have unique or special knowledge about something
I was not privy to the conversation regarding the new business plan so I cannot comment on it.

punitive damages
extra damages awarded to someone in order to punish them and in order to deter others
The patient was awarded much money as punitive damages in his lawsuit against the hospital.

put (something) down in black and white
to write something down, to make or draw up a contract
I put my plans for the meeting down in black and white.

quid pro quo
something for something (quid pro quo is from Latin), mutual concessions made by the parties in a
transaction
The government and the teachers changed their contract demands in a quid pro quo effort to solve
their dispute.

the responsible party
the person or party that is legally or morally obliged to do something or accept the blame for
something
The responsible party was forced to compensate the victim of the crime.

run afoul of the law
to get into trouble with the law
The young man ran afoul of the law and was taken into police custody.

serve notice on (someone)
to deliver a legal announcement or document to someone
The company served notice on the workers that they would close the factory next year.

set (someone) free
to release someone from prison or captivity
The police set the man free when they decided that there was not enough evidence to charge him
with a crime.

show cause
to give a reason or explanation for something
The lawyer was asked to show cause about why the man was guilty of the crime.

show good faith
to demonstrate good intentions or good will
We try to show good faith when we meet the opposing side in our contract negotiations.

sign on the dotted line
to put your signature on a contract or other important document
We signed on the dotted line of the contract to start the new business.

signed, sealed and delivered
having formally and officially signed something
The contract was signed, sealed and delivered before we went home for the evening.

skip bail
to fail to appear in court and therefore give up the money that you paid for bail
The amount of bail was very high so that the accused criminal would not skip bail.

small print
the part of a document or contract that may contain important information but is not easily noticed
because the print is small
I read the small print before I bought the television.

spirit of the law
something as it is meant to be and not as it is stated exactly, what the people who made the law
wanted to achieve
The judge tried to follow the spirit of the law and not only as it was written.

stand one's ground
to stand up for one's rights
I stood my ground and refused to do anything that was not totally honest.

stay of execution
a court order to temporarily stop another court order or judgement - this can be used for any kind of
court order
There was a stay of execution on the order to demolish the old house.

the straight and narrow
a straight and law-abiding route through life
The young man was back on the straight and narrow after talking with the police officer and the
social worker.

stretch the truth
to misrepresent the truth (usually in a small way)
The witness was stretching the truth when she told the judge her excuse for the crime.

subject to (something)
depending on something
The sale of the house is subject to our getting a report from the housing inspector.

take effect
to become effective or in use (used for a law or rule)
There is a new law related to Internet advertising that will soon take effect.

take the law into one's own hands
to try to administer the law on your own
The transit supervisor was taking the law into his own hands when he tried to arrest the man.

take precedence over (someone or something)
to be more important than someone or something, to have the right to come before someone or
something else
The laws about the safety of children take precedence over many other laws.

to the letter
precisely, exactly
The lawyer always suggests that his clients follow the judge's decisions to the letter.

trumped-up
false and exaggerated, invented by fraud or criminal deception
The business owner was arrested on trumped-up charges.

turn a blind eye to (someone or something)
to pretend not to see someone who is doing something wrong, to pretend not to see something that
may be troublesome
The police often turn a blind eye to people who cross the street on a red light.

under a cloud (of suspicion)
to be suspected of doing something wrong or illegal
The manager of the coffee shop was fired from her job under a cloud of suspicion.

under age
below the legal age to do something
The boy was under age and was not able to buy cigarettes.

under arrest
arrested by the police
The man was placed under arrest for stealing a car.

vicarious liability
the liability of one person through the act of another
It was a case of vicarious liability when the man was charged because of his friend's behavior.

with impunity
without risk of punishment
The man continued to abuse his position and clients with impunity.

with no strings attached
with no obligations attached
The man was forced to agree to the terms of the agreement with no strings attached.