breakfast cereal

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breakfast cereal
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electric toaster
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(No Transcript)
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Lesson Eight
The Worker as Creator or Machine
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Topic for Discussion
Whats your idea of work?
What does work mean to you?
If one day you become rich enough not to worry
about money, would you work?
What will you do if not working?
What drives you to work then ?
What kind of work do you prefer to do, if you are
allowed to choose?
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Pre-Text Questions
What type of writing is this one?
What is mainly talked about in this essay?
Whats the theme of the writing?
What is the dominating method employed by Fromm
to make his theme known and accepted by the
readers?
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Detailed Study of the Text
About the author
About the book
The Sane Society (1955)
Unless man exploits others, he has to work in
order to live.
Except for those who live off the labor of
others, everyone must work to survive.
The opening sentence of this paragraph asserts a
very basic truth of human society in a very
lucid way. Can we take it as the theme of the
essay?
by the very fact of production, he has risen
above the animal kingdom
Does this sentence mean that human beings are not
members of the animal kingdom?
the animal kingdom
the vegetable kingdom
the mineral kingdom
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because of the fact itself that man produces, he
has developed far beyond all other animals
In what sense does Fromm claim that work is also
human beings liberator from nature, his creator
as a social and independent being ?
He emerges from nature by mastering her
As man develops, he gains more knowledge of
nature and becomes less its victim his conquest
of nature to serve his needs transforms him into
her master. Thus he emerges from or rises above
nature
What is human beings original unity with nature?
mans earlier total dependence on and merging
with nature like the lower animals
How does man unite himself with nature again
after the separation?
By becoming natures master, by stationing
himself above nature, man separates himself from
nature. But at the same time he connects himself
once again to nature to further conquer her and
develop his understanding of her.
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individuality
the sum of the characteristics or qualities that
set one person or thing apart from others
the beautiful paintings in the caves of Southern
France
the ornaments on weapons among primitive people
the statues and temples of Greece
the cathedrals of the Middle Ages
What is the purpose of the last sentence of
paragraph 1? Do you think that Fromm just picks
these examples at random?
What is mainly talked about in the second
paragraph?
craftsmanship
What is the authors idea about craftsmanship?
one of the peaks in the evolution of creative work
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Work was not only a useful activity, but one
which carried with it a profound satisfaction.
Work enhanced mans productive powers and was a
source of great satisfaction to the craftsman.
C. W. Mills
What is Millss idea of work?
the product being made
motive
the processes of its creation
There is no ulterior motive in work other than
its creation.
The worker is only interested in how and what he
is going to make. He has no further motives.
Why for these craftsmen the details of daily work
are meaningful?
prosecution
the carrying on or engaging in sth
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Why in this way there is no split of work and
play, or work and culture ? What does Mills
mean by saying this?
What is your understanding of the last sentence?
Why did Fromm choose to have a direct quotation
of Mills?
Could a paraphrased version of Fromm have the
same effect?
What can we learn from the first sentence of the
third para.?
the modern mode of production
Why did these changes happen especially in the
Protestant countries ?
What were men freed from?
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favored by God chosen by God to go to heaven
after death
chosen
The worker in the eighteenth or nineteenth
century, to sell his energy to those who had
the means of exploiting it.
The workers didnt work 16 hours a day to serve
God or to show that he was chosen by God to go
to heaven, but because in order to live he had
to sell his labor to the capitalists who had the
means of exploiting him.
What is the meaning of work?
the middle class
duty
those without property
forced labor
What does the first centuries of the modern era
refer to?
The religious attitudehas been changing
Why the perfect continuous tense is used?
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What drives man to work in a modern society,
according to Fromm?
What is the newly emerged thing?
Work has become alienated from the working person.
The worker feels estranged from or hostile to the
work he is doing.
What is the main target of Fromms psychoanalysis
in paragraph 5 ?
What can we learn from the first sentence of
paragraph 6?
Why is the object of the production put in the
quotation marks?
In what sense does Fromm claim that the worker
only play a passive role in his work ?
What does the physical aspect of the product
refer to?
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He is concerned neither with the whole
productnor with its wider economic and social
aspects.
He doesnt care about the end product itself or
the part it plays in the overall economy or the
way in which it serves the needs of society.
Why the word enterprise is also put in the
quotation marks?
What kind of message does this convey?
How does a worker become a slave of the machine?
What is the work of the worker defined in a
modern society?
What does the definition indicate?
What has been mainly talked about in the 6th
paragraph?
devoid
be devoid of
completely lacking
A well devoid of water is useless.
The article is devoid of both wit and
inventiveness.
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puts a premium on
places an unusual or high value on
Employers put a premium on honesty and hard work.
Westerners put a premium on punctuality.
more valuable than usual, as from scarcity
at a premium
Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir
was contaminated.
Why do you think a pay check is not enough to
satisfy a worker?
What do they want from their work then?
Can the first sentence be taken as the topic
sentence of paragraph 7 ?
What is being analyzed in the 8th paragraph?
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Friction will hinder the speed of production
because the machines are not working smoothly.
Workers are regarded only as part of the
machines so they are treated in an inhumane way.
What do you know about the term human engineering
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in the name of
by the authority of for the sake of
under the guise of
Gosh! They did all that in the name of
friendship?
What is your understanding of a completely
alienated person ?
the worker is completely disinterested and
thoroughly dislikes his work
What does better relation with the public mean?
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work
alienated
features
profoundly unsatisfactory
the ideal of complete laziness
outcomes
a hostile toward work
Can we take this long sentence as the conclusion
reached by Fromm?
Can we take the first sentence of the 11th
paragraph as its topic sentence?
the act, process, or practice of rationalizing
rationalization
rationalization proposals
rationalization of industry
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ruler of the space
the wide open space of the road
the driver can go anywhere he likes
What is been mainly talked about in the last
paragraph?
hostility toward work
What is the target of Fromms analysis?
businessman
Many a businessman feels himself the prisonerhe
has a feeling of fraudulency about his product
and a secret contempt for it.
Many businessmen feel trapped by the system which
forces them to sell whatever they can,
regardless of the quality or usefulness of the
product. They knows the quality or usefulness of
his product is not what it should be. He
despises the goods he produces, conscious of the
deception involved.
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What does a businessman hate?
customers
competitors
himself
products
employees
superiors
Why does he hate these stuff or people or even
himself?
he hates himself, because he sees his life
passing by, without making any sense beyond the
momentary intoxication of success
the businessman hates himself because he finds
life passing by meaninglessly. Only for a short
moment does he feel excited over his success.
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come up to
1. to reach up as far as (a specified point)
The water came up to my neck and I started
screaming.
2. to reach (an acceptable level or standard)
Their holiday abroad didnt really come up to
expectations.
His performance didnt really come up to his
usual high standard.
and only occasionally comes up to awareness in a
fleeting thought, which is sufficiently
disturbing to be set aside as quickly as possible
only occasionally he becomes aware of them, and
then because they are so disturbing, he puts
them aside as quickly as possible