Prejudice is a complex mix of mental perceptions, associated emotions

by | Mar 10, 2023 | Home Science

 

 

Prejudice is a complex mix of mental perceptions, associated emotions, and attitudes toward members of another group that often results in social distance and manifests in overt acts of discrimination. An important first step in addressing the roots of prejudice and discrimination is to trace the historical sources and the psychological reinforcements.

In this Assignment, you will explore historical examples of sexual and gender prejudice and discrimination, drawing on how prejudice is perpetuated across generations and analyzing the implications of persistent prejudice and gender inequality in society.

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

The first instances of sexual and gender inequalities can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome where men held power over women. In both societies, women were seen as inferior to men and their roles in society were limited to domestic or reproductive duties. This set the stage for centuries of gender inequality in which women have been denied basic rights, such as the right to vote or access education. As a result, this kind of prejudice has persisted throughout history up until modern day

Sample Solution

The first instances of sexual and gender inequalities can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome where men held power over women. In both societies, women were seen as inferior to men and their roles in society were limited to domestic or reproductive duties. This set the stage for centuries of gender inequality in which women have been denied basic rights, such as the right to vote or access education. As a result, this kind of prejudice has persisted throughout history up until modern day

Fast forward to the 20th century when discrimination based on sex and gender continued into many aspects of life including employment opportunities, wages, inheritances, marriage rights among others. Women were also denied access to certain professions such as law and medicine due to perceived notions that they would not be able complete them effectively due to their biology. Similarly, members of the LGBTQ+ community faced similar levels of discrimination during this era which is still pervasive today in some areas across the globe.

In addition to overt forms of gender-based violence such as physical assaults or verbal abuse; subtle forms of prejudice like microaggressions (eg: jokes about one’s ethnicity/gender) are very common and often go unnoticed by people who practice them or those around them. These seemingly insignificant phrases can have an immense impact on someone’s mental health and well-being because it communicates an underlying message that one is lower than another due solely based upon inherent traits like skin color or sexual orientation.

Finally, persistent sexual/gender prejudices have resulted in further marginalization within communities with individuals being excluded from conversations or decision making processes simply because they don’t fit into traditional masculine/feminine norms associated with a given society or culture at large.. This lack representation has been linked with higher rates poverty within related demographics as well has less access resources needed for upward mobility(e..g job opportunities).

In conclusion addressing issues related towards ongoing social injustices requires more than just laws but also changes at individual level so all people regardless background receive proper recognition for contributions thus creating greater sense inclusion moving forward

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