Thesis Fix

Thesis Fix

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Gould Summary/Response Essay

Gould Summary/Response Essay

In the concluding paragraphs of Stephen Jay Gould’s essay ‘Nonmoral Nature,’ double quotes Gould argues that through natural selection, nature regulates itself. According to him, ichneumons laying its agr eggs on a host caterpillar should not be seen as cruelty but as a way of regulating nature. He terms it inappropriate to question “nature[ ]” as it has to take its course. In his view the strategy works for ichneumons[ ] and the ichneumons have outmaneuvered the caterpillar in the evolutionary game. He views evolution to be changing and that some day in the future the caterpillar will develop some adequate defense against ichneumons. The probability of that happening [ ] though [ ] is very little wc. Gould compares natural selection to the “mills of God,” which grinds agr slowly and the products are “aesthetically, morally and intellectually repulsive to us” these two quoted phrases come from Julian Huxley—be careful to attribute quotes accurately (Gould). Natural selection is an important phenomenon of regulating nature even though it seems cruel towards the weak in the evolutionary game. Thesis? This statement identifies “natural selection” but does not present an argument in response to Gould’s claims in the last two paragraphs of his essay. See my notes on your first draft.

Natural selection is a law that regulates nature. See my comments on your first draft. In the passage, the ichneumon represents the habits of a large number of animals. The group of wasps has provoked “the problem of evil” among natural theologians. The wasps live their larva life as parasites, which then feed on the bodies of the host animals belonging to their own phylum, athropoda. The adult ichneumon broods their agr young ones into the appropriate host (Gould). The host is later inconvenienced when it is almost entirely consumed. Different animals [ ]too [ ] feed on others. The lion feeds on impalas, humans feed on goats (?)[ ] and so on. That ref has been viewed as a cruel act. When much thought is given to the ichneumon case, the caterpillars mod are naturally regulated from destroying the crops. If the ichneumon does not feed on the caterpillar, there would be an imbalance. The crops would be greatly destroyed by the large numbers of caterpillars that feed on the crops. The other race of animals that are dependent on the crops will then perish, as the crops to feed on will not be available.

Humans[ ] too[ ] contribute to the “cruelty” of nature. Connection to thesis? Just like the chneumon, humans feed on other vertebrates of the kingdom animalia. Man, who belongs to the subphylum vertebrata[ ] feeds on cows, goats [among other animals’ meat belonging to the same subphylum, vertebrates.] awk phrasing In order to put the meat on the table, a human has to first hunt the animal. The animal undergoes human’s cruelty whereby the human slaughters the animal in order to get its ? meet.sp [In the real sense] awk that ref should not be observed as cruelty but rather it should be seen as a gift from God. Shift in focus Some humans observe a strict vegetarian diet as a way of doing away with natures punct cruelty. Such human’s punct suffer clinical conditions that are caused by lack of sufficient nutrients got wc from eating meat. Natural selection therefore “plain happens” (Gould). The connection between Gould’s claim that perceived “cruelty” in nature “just plain happens” and your argument in this paragraph that humans eating animals is an example of “a gift from God” is not clear.

In evolution, natural selection is the struggle for existence. TS? All animals benefit from another species in one way or another. The stronger species generally preys on the weaker one. In the food chain, the weakest of them all is usually placed at the bottom of the chain. The animals or species that have less defense attributes do become extinct over a period of time. In Gould’s essay the caterpillar is the species that is less defensive in the “survival for the fittest” expression used by Herbert Spencer. It meant tense shift that the weaker species verb? extinct over a period of suffering natural cruelty. Natural selection is therefore not as cruel as it seams. sp It is a way in which nature reduces aggregate suffering to natural habitats. This statement contains the argument you are making in this paragraph.

In conclusion, Gould’s view of natural selection is that, no c nature should be left to take its course. He does not think it as wc appropriate, no c for us to rule against nature. He believes that there is no answer to the ancient dilemma of why cruelty (according to our terms) exists. Natural selection regulates nature (Gould). From history, there were gigantic animals such as mammoths and dinosaurs. The animals became extinct due to the natural selection process. This natural selection process regulated nature since the animals fed heavily on plants. If the animals had continued to survive the other animals would then [have to perish] tense shift , as they would not be left with any crops to feed on. Humans are part of the natural selection process. They[ ] too[ ] have to feed from other species, causing cruelty, just like the ichneumons to the caterpillar. In nature all species struggle to survive by benefitting from other weaker species. The weak species in the struggle is [faced out]? and becomes extinct after a long period of time.

Essay 2 RUBRIC

1. Be sure to follow the assignment directions.  This assignment asks you to respond, in an argument essay, to a selected passage.  In your introductory paragraph, be sure to identify the author and the essay title; indicate and summarize the specific passage you’ve chosen to discuss. For example: “In the concluding paragraphs of Stephen Jay Gould’s essay ‘Nonmoral Nature,’ Gould argues that . . .” OR “In paragraph 30 of ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ Martin Luther King, Jr. states that . . .” 

Be sure that your thesis is the last sentence of your introduction and that it states your argument about the selected passage.  You will then focus on this argument as you analyze several aspects of the selected passage in the body of your essay.

Remember:  Your analysis is the the centerpiece of this essay.  Every reference you make to the original paragraph (King’s or Gould’s) should be in support of your opinion, not the other way around.

This essay lacks a strong thesis. The statement that concludes your introductory paragraph makes a claim about the way that natural selection “regulates nature,” but it does not respond clearly to an argument Gould makes in the final paragraphs of his essay.

2. Remember everything you learned in ATS and apply it to this essay!  Not only should your thesis be an assertion (a statement you must prove), but every topic sentence of every body paragraph should support that assertion.  Likewise, every sentence within a given body paragraph should relate to and support the claim made in the topic sentence.  This overall structure is absolutely essential in a successful argument essay.

This essay is structured around the idea that natural selection is an important regulator that applies to both humans and non-humans, but the overall cohesion of your argument is lacking.

3. Keep your focus only on the passage you’ve selected.  This assignment is an exercise in what is called “close reading.”  The passages chosen for the assignment contain provocative statements for you to respond to (for ex:  “groups tend to be more immoral than individuals” or “if nature is nonmoral, then evolution cannot teach any ethical theory at all”).  Be sure to quote such passages in your essay and build each body paragraph around your analysis of the quote. 

Important reminder about using quotes from the text: Yes, use quotes, but do not rely on long passages of text to fill up your paragraphs. Use brief quotes and always include a sentence of your own to introduce the quote and to follow it. In other words, never let a quote stand alone. Always comment on its significance in your own words.

Be careful to cite page numbers after each quote and to attribute quotes appropriately (see above).

4. Don’t forget basic grammar and style rules.  You know the drill.  Indent the first sentence of every paragraph (in these days of email and social media, we are out of practice, but remember that tab button?  Use it!). 

There are quite a few grammatical and typographical errors here that weaken the overall effectiveness of your argument.

Do not use 2nd person point of view.  Do not use contractions. 

Works Cited

Gould, Jay, Steven. “Nonmoral Nature.” A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 8th ed. Boston:

Indent Bedford, 2010. 638-648