issue178

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It is possible to pass laws that control or place limits on people’s behavior, but legislation cannot reform human nature. laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts and minds.1024

I share the notion with the speaker that though some existent laws control or limit our behavior, legislation itself fails to reform human nature; neither can laws change our thoughts and believes. Ample examples can be drawn from our life and history to prove it.

In the first place, I admit that to a certain degree-- that following the laws do no harm to people's inner desire and aspiration-- most of people abide to laws willingly or reluctantly because of the deterrent power of laws. People who are coughing dare to spit in public for fear of fines; pedestrians walk a long way to cross the street on zebra cross not to breach the regulation and whoever receiving the remuneration over a number must spare part of the money for taxation, otherwise he or she might face with the danger of being put into jail. Without those laws and regulations, people would find much more freedom in life: spitting anywhere you feel uncomfortable relieves you immediately; crossing the street directly saves time and energy to find the nearest zebra cross and tax-waiving means more dispensable money. But considering the punishment we might receive for breaking laws, which costs much more than what the freedom we enjoy by breaching them, the best policy, ironically, is to observe them.

The deterrent power of laws, nevertheless, achieves little to alter human nature. In fact, it is not legislation, but other elements, such as genetic factor and environment factor, that matter in the formation of human nature. When we talk about the nature of our acquaintances or famous celebrates, we classify them as optimists, pessimists and so forth. What constitute such personalities are innate characters and the surrounding in which they are brought up-- from smaller families to the bigger society. Hardly do we hear people attributing an optimistic nature to the predominance of just laws or a pessimism nature to unjust ones and vice versa. On the other hand, people under all kinds of legal system-- which shows tremendous difference on legislation-- demonstrates the same types of nature. I can hare-press that laws which can change human nature can reach to such conformity. Therefore, in my view, legislation and human nature are two independent matters as the speaker claims.

Paradoxally, when it comes to the issue of altering people's believes, laws are also helpless. That is because our thoughts and believes are the invaluable treasure in our inner most heart which render us courage to go on our journey of life. Compared to this, any pain we may suffer from breaking laws is neglectable. Think of those early Christians who lived under the high pressured reign of Roman Empire. Even if much legislation was made in those days meaning to convert Christians, including threaten and torturing, little had achieved. Some may argue that this is because the laws mentioned is not just or natural ones while just or good laws can guild people to the right rail, for example, the laws aiming to abolishing the obsolete feudal custom in China. This might be the case. But such a change requires a long period of time after people's conception has changed a lot. Thus, it is almost impossible to discern which the main factor for the alternation is: legislation or the advancement of human being.

In short, we should have a clear view on the effect of laws on our life: while they definitely affect our behavior-- by set limitation to our freedom-- they do not constitute to the change of human nature and thoughts and believes. Perhaps this is the alarms to legislator the point that it might be in vain for them to pass laws intending to alter people's characters and even their believes.
提纲：
全肯定
1 不触及人们最基本的希望时，人们会出于对法律的敬畏而受法律的限制。
2 法律和天性无关：天性有别的决定因素，而任何法律下人们的天性都呈现相同的类型。
3 法律无法改变信仰和思想.反例是中国的法律改变封建旧思想，但也可能是人类进步引发的。

问题:
It is possible to pass laws that control or place limits on people’s behavior 是指通过这样的法律不难，还是指用这样的法律限制人们的行为。

[ 本帖最后由 staralways 于 2006-2-5 19:05 编辑 ]

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