Sex and Mans Struggle Against Nature :: science

Sex and Mans Struggle Against NatureIn Sex and Violence, or Nature and Art, Camille Paglia claims nature is inherently stronger than society. indian lodge is an artificial construction, a defense against natures power.a system of inherited forms reducing our humiliating passivity to nature. (Writing in the Disciplines 572) I agree with the majority of Paglias opinions, however, I believe that on that point are points that could have been elaborated on more substantially. In this essay, Paglia states that man is born evil and it is societys job to condition him to be a good, moral person. Paglia would take issue with someone who said the reason a person murdered was because he grew up in a bad section of town, or his home biography left something to be desired. On the contrary, Paglia claims it is the inner evil, the nature, of the person to kill, and it is societys lack of conditioning that releases this savage response. Society is not the criminal but the force which keeps crime in check. (Writing in the Disciplines 574) She claims no matter how much a person sinks into devotion, or their society, nature will always have the upper hand. Paglia believes if man is left to his ingrained instincts, with no threat of societys punishment, he will be evil and commit evil deeds. In society, sexual urges can often influence a persons morality, making him second-guess his values for the sake of sexual pleasure. She also goes on to say, getting back to nature. would be to give free rein to violence and lust. (Writing in the Disciplines 573-574) I agree that this scenario is a possible outcome, but Paglia fails to mention that with out society we would have no idea, which deeds were evil and which were not. It is society that has set the limits and told us what is evil. beforehand men were grouped together in societies, they roamed free with no idea of right and wrong. It wasnt until man made up his religion with its rules, regulations and laws that he had a certi fied idea of evil. But I do agree with Paglia that nature is the stronger force, and no matter how much we try to fool ourselves into believing that society or religion can save us from the torment of nature, we will always be reminded of mother natures force. Civilized man conceals from himself the extent of his subordination to nature.