Every Human Being Needs example essay topic

Since the beginning of Human existence, mankind has needed to conform or adapt to its environment, especially in order to survive. "For almost a million years, people have successfully adapted to a variety of terrestrial environments". (Spratly / McCurdy 7) Even today, human beings still divide, associate, and form groups of individuals that share a common interest. In today's society, we call that group of individuals who are the mass, the majority.

This majority is what we call the "status quo", or the group of people who set the trend or "norm". The "norm" is modern slang for the word normal. What everyday people consider normal, is what the majority sets as the "norm" or normal way of talking, apparel, sense of style, etc. As time goes by, regardless of whatever trend is popular at set at the time by the status quo, if an individual does not like it, or follow suit with the majority, they are labeled an outcast. Although as an individual, you have the right to dress, say, walk, act, and look as you please, but because you decided not to conform, you are a labeled as a rebel. Once a person decides not to conform, may it be as small as not wearing the same color shirt as their friends, or big as not agreeing with the rest of a jury to convict a murderer, they do not conform.

But what causes a person to conform? Some say it is lack of self-principals or morals. Others say it is because they have no idea who they are as a person, which allows them to become another mindless zombie of the majority. In this paper, I plan to discover if conformity is becoming apart of human nature by three theories: An individual conforms because of the fear he or she has of not being apart of a group. Walker 2 Fear that because of personal interest, choice of style, or viewpoint, the majority will not accept them, and the inability for a human being to ignore the need to feel that they are apart of a group. Now when remembering your child hood, every person can remember a situation where they had to do something they did not want to do.

That is just a situation that is inevitable in human existence. But in society, people do not conform by choice, but out of fear. Fear of how they will be treated, viewed, or even accepted by the masses if they go against the ideas of the masses. This creates fear, and the idea of the possibility of not being apart of the group. Fear stops any idea's a person would have of disagreeing, or not following the trend of the status quo. "Culture is an adaptive mechanism".

(Midgley 32) When thinking about people as individuals, one must realize that every person does not have the same ideas or viewpoints that are exactly the same as the next. "The value's that individuals learn differ from one society to another because of different learning experiences". (Suran 9) This is the difference between a person and an individual. This is where personal interests come into place. For some people, because of their personal interests, may it be choice of what food they like to eat, or even what radio station thy listen to, they will not allow the mass to know these interests if they are not the same. Why would someone do this?

For fear if it is not the same as the mass, they will not be accepted. Because of their personal beliefs were not the same as the majority; they will fall in line without any questions in order not to become an outsider from the collective. Walker 3 "In order to explore oneself as an individual, one must be able to set aside the customs and conventions of society". (Midgley 71) Along with the fear of not being accepted by the masses because of personal interests, as well as the fear of not being a member of the majority, another reason why a person conforms is because of the humanistic need and desire to feel apart of a group or collective. No one wants to feel isolated; every human being needs to have a sense that they belong somewhere. It is a humanistic necessity or a person to feel that they belong.

A person who does not feel that hey belong in their society cannot function and survive to sustain their existence. "Numerous species have become extinct because of their inability to adapt". (Suran 5) But again I ask the question: Is conformity becoming apart of human nature? From researching information, and studying the periods of social trends, conformity is not becoming apart of human nature, but is in fact human nature itself. It is impossible to escape conformity, because it is apart of our human nature to survive.

Survival, also known as self-preservation, is impossible to ignore. With out conformity, one doe's not survive. Sometimes, when human beings comment actions that may seem strange to them selves, or those around them, they sometime go unquestioned or thought through, because we have no logical reasoning for our reason for acting that way. As human beings, we act without thinking sometimes, it is a reflex, and it is human nature.

"Human survival depends on cultural conformity" (Spardley / McCurdy 310)

Bibliography

1. Midgley, Mary. Beast and man: The roots of human nature. New York: Cornell University Press 1978 2.
Suran, G. Bernard. Oddballs: The Social Maverick and the Dynamics of individuality. Chicago: Nelson-Hall 1978 3.
Sp radley, P. James, and McCurdy, W. David: CONFORMITY AND CONFLICT: Readings in cultural anthropology: third edition Boston-Toronto: Little, Brown and Company 1971, 1974, 1977.