Behaviorists human development Essay Example

Behaviorists human development Essay The question of whether heredity (nature) or environment (nurture) is more important in determining the course of human development has been debated throughout the centuries (Papalia et al, 2002). The advent of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859), which emphasizes the biological basis of human development, led to a return to the hereditarian point of view. With the rise of behaviorism in the twentieth century, however, the environmentalists’ position once again gained dominance (Atkinson, 1993). Behaviorists such as John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner argued that human nature is completely malleable: early training can turn a child into any kind of adult, regardless of his or her heredity. Watson stated the argument in its most extreme form which is presented the average person’s activity (Atkinson, 1993). Today most psychologists agree not only that both nature and nurture play important roles but that they interact continuously and guide development. For example, the development of many personality traits, such as sociability and emotional stability, appear to be influenced about equally by heredity and environment; similarly, mental disorders can have both genetic and environmental causes (Atkinson, 1993). Behavior geneticists are attempting to sort out the relative importance of nature and nurture influences in the development of various behavior patterns. Psychologists are especially interested in the roles of nature and nurture in intelligence, abnormal behavior patterns such as schizophrenia, and social problems such as sociopathy and aggression (Atkinson, 1993). We will write a custom essay sample on Behaviorists human development specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Behaviorists human development specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Behaviorists human development specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Non-genetic influence or the environment is perhaps the strongest alibi any person attributes to whenever things turn out not as good as they want them to be. We often make justifications why we tend to be mediocre; â€Å"because my parents did not try their very best to train me and provide for all that I need,† is our typical rejoinder. To what extent is this true, and where does the line end when it comes to personal responsibility, genetic predispositions, or the responsibility and accountability of people who exert immense influence on us? The argument postulated in this paper is not so much as â€Å"drawing the line† in as much as it has evidently proven the great impact of nurture on personality and/or human development in general (Papalia et al, 2002). Parental abuse and neglect have been issues in learning because these are factors that are vital to the child’s overall performance and normal functioning as they operate as kids and later as adults in the real world. This is also true with nutritional status of children in their growing years. Several studies have proven the effects of these factors that they are consciously observed among the educated parents; as much as possible, many actively pursue in avoiding the drastic effects of either deficiency (Papalia et al, 2002). Indeed, the environmental changes that are constantly influencing children in their early stages are established in the scientific disciplines; this despite the many arguments to the contrary. Operant conditioning, like classical conditioning, is not just an exotic laboratory procedure. People use operant conditioning everyday in their effort to influence other people. For example, parents and peers incline children to acquire â€Å"sex appropriate† behavior patterns through the elaborate use of rewards and punishment. Parents tend to praise their children for sharing with others and to punish their children for being too aggressive. The strength of an operant response can be measured by its resistance to extinction: that is, how long it takes for the behavior to return to its original rate once the pleasant consequence following the behavior no longer occurs. It is thus told that it is generally correct to say that for an operant response to be strengthened, the response should be rewarded (Nevid, Rathus and Greene, 2008). But reward in ordinary language denotes things such as money, candy, or praise. There would be times, however, that a reward will not always strengthen an operant response. This is further explained in other phenomena of operant conditioning called reinforcement; the negative and positive reinforcers etc. Reinforcement is anything that increases the probability that a particular response will increase in frequency. The presentation (positive) or removal (negative) of particular consequences may reinforce responses. Thus, reinforcement may be either positive or negative (Nevid, Rathus and Greene, 2008). Positive reinforcer increases the probability that an operant will occur when it is applied, or it increases the likelihood that a particular response will occur. When a student gets a high grade as reward for his effective study habits, he is likely to consistently follow his rewarded behavior. This is an example of positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcer increases the probability that an operant will occur when it is removed. People often learn to plan ahead so that they need not fear that things will go wrong. Fear acts as a negative reinforcer, because removal of fear increases the probability that the behaviors preceding it will be repeated (Nevid, Rathus and Greene, 2008). Primary reinforcers. There are some reinforcers that are innately reinforcing. They’re powerful in increasing the chance that a particular behavior will occur. They are usually effective because they satisfy basic physiological needs, food, clothing, and shelter are considered primary reinforcers (Nevid, Rathus and Greene, 2008). Secondary reinforcers are reinforcers which are not innately reinforcing. Their power to reinforce behavior is acquired and not innately present. Money, grades, prize, and tokens are secondary reinforcers (Nevid, Rathus and Greene, 2008). Punishments are aversive events that suppress or decrease the frequency of the behavior they follow. Punishment can rapidly suppress undesirable behavior and may be warranted in â€Å"emergencies† such as when a child tries to run out into the street (Nevid, Rathus and Greene, 2008). Case 1: Connie †¢ Demographics (age, race, sex etc. ) Connie is in the early adolescent stage of development. After watching and observing her with the allotted time, she easily related with me some basic information about herself. She’s thirteen years old, and will be turning fourteen (14) by June this year. She had her menarche last October 2008 but she said, it is not that regular yet. She has only one other sibling, a younger sister now three years old, and also a girl. †¢ Appearance (clothing, approximate height and weight and other defining characteristics) Connie is tall and lanky, and seems awkward of her height (five feet and 4 inches). She dresses simply; appeared to opt for a sporty look rather than the more feminine type. She has a medium length raven-black wavy hair. Her slim body build makes her a stand out in the crowd since many of her peers in the school ground where they are seen together, are all on the bulky side. She has a confident gait, but she appears to be very conscious at times of the stares that she gets from some of the other students strolling in the area. Her group of friends was watching something in the ipod her classmate was holding and so the mood just suddenly became serious. They were all wearing their school uniform this particular day. It comprised of a blue skirt with a white blouse, with a tiny blue ribbon to accessorize the whole get up. They donned on their IDs as well but Connie set herself apart as she was wearing a grey beret.

Classics Never Dies How Friends and KeKe Can Improve Your English 101 Essay

Classics Never Dies How Friends and KeKe Can Improve Your English 101 Essay English is a compulsory course in Chinese schools. However, like in many nations in the world, the English teaching in China mainly focuses on grammar and exams, which makes the subject very boring. Students have little to no interest in English and always find it a hard subject due to the wrong teaching method. Luckily, even if the school is not reliable and the education system is poor, there are still ways to learn English. Among all the interesting methods, watching TV series is one of the most powerful methods. The benefit of using TV shows to study a language is that it’s fun, and it caters to the psychological needs of the youth. Ever wondered how Japanese became a popular language among youth globally? This is due to the attraction of anime. Korean is also a language liked by many girls in western nations. That is thanks to Korean dramas. And here comes the conclusion: it is the same way that English TV shows can make English learning fun to the Chinese youth. As a matter of fact, some Chinese students do gain their interest through English TV shows. Once they have some favored stars, they want to watch more of their works and understand them better. Thus, they have the desire to learn English well. Out of all the English dramas that have been made so far, Friends is the most popular among the Chinese youth. In comparison with other TV shows like The Big Bang Theory, Prison Break the vocabulary in Friends is simpler and the speaking speed is slightly slower. This sitcom even has a copycat Chinese version called iPartment. You can see how popular it is across the nation. Friends can be a beginner TV series in learning English for Chinese students. Yet, due to copyrights issues, Friends is not available in on Chinese websites and it is hard to download them as. This is because few Chinese sites provide the downloading link. Luckily, with the powerful app Keke English, you can still find the audio of this show. This app provides the full episodes of all ten seasons. Just type â€Å"è€ Ã¥ â€¹Ã¨ ® °Ã¢â‚¬ in the search bar and you’ll find all of them. Each episode is cut into two footages, and every footage is 12 or 13 mins long. When you enter the study interface to listen to the audio, you’ll find bilingual subtitles. Every sentence has the function of loop playback, you can be repeated as many times as you want after the audio. And if you encounter a new word, you just touch it once and the Chinese meaning will show up immediately at the bottom along with the audio given. Press the loudspeaker, then you’ll hear the pronunciation said by native speakers. Click â€Å"æ · »Ã¥Å   Ã§â€Å¸Ã¨ ¯ Ã¢â‚¬  and you can add the word to your wordlist. Later you can find more details of the word in your wordlist. KeKe provides both British and American pronunciation, along with explanations in Chinese and English. You can also find model sentences together with some relevant phrases. Besides, this app also gives you a word test through listening and dictation. Just move your fingers on the smartphone and you can enjoy learning English within mins. And in order to enhance your English listening and speaking skills, it’s suggested to listen to each audio 4 or 5 times. After listening to the audio for the 1st time, check the script for the new words and phrases you don’t know. You can firstly practise them in the Keke English vocabulary test, and then take them down in your notebook. These are the parts where you can improve your English. You may learn ten new words or phrases in one episode, and the more you listen or watch, the more you’ll become adapted to native speakers’ speaking speed and intonation. For any students who want to enjoy the real TV series, they can also choose to buy it online. An important thing you need to remember is practising regularly. If you only spend very short time or quickly abandon it, you won’t make any progress in your English. It’s just like running, if you haven’t run for a while, your speed and stamina could drop sharply. It is the same with English. In each practice, the time should be at least an hour. For those who use the videos to learn, they can download bilingual subtitles. One should at least watch each episode 3 times. The 1st time close the subtitles whilst watching the episode, and at the 2nd time open the subtitles and check the parts you don’t understand, then take down the new words and phrases into your notebook, have a self-dictation after reviewing the episode. And at the 3rd time, once again you watch it without subtitles, then you’ll find you really make progress this time. If you still have unclear parts, you can choose to watch one or two more times. As a classic sitcom, Friends can always bring you a lot of laughter. So, why not learn English with something can make you happy? It will give you motivation for continuous learning. Through such happy English learning method, you’re surely to do well in the English 101 essay.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 20

Discussion - Essay Example icle, â€Å"Effective Communication-That is just what I mean† by Santosh Sachdeva, the author has emphasized on the importance of effective communication. The author has also highlighted the significance of accurate body language and tone while communicating with the other person. Body language, voice and words play are the most essential elements of an effective communication. A person can misunderstand or misinterpret the meaning of the entire message; if any element of an effective communication is absent from the message. The author further adds that feed back or the response signifies that the message has been understood by the receiver. However, we cannot ignore the issues that generally emerge during any communication either it is done verbally or nonverbally. People often ignore what other person is saying. They focus more on their response rather paying attention to the words of other person. People make errors in communication either they are bounded by their ego or they feel superiority complex over the other one which damages the effectiveness. Perception is another issue which causes damage to effective communication. People often ignore the message of a person who is low in status or less privileged. On the other hand, people pay more attention to the words and meanings of the person who is more sound and stable than the other groups. Sometimes people ignore the message conveyed to them in state of stress. People believe what they see, they acquire from their surroundings and what is being fed in their minds rather they communicate and talk with other groups to justify the authenticity of the information. To avoid issues in communication, it is very important to listen actively to the words of the speaker and to give a proper feedback to the person in order to assure him that you have understood the message and the

Lectures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lectures - Essay Example Work by the artist has also been featured extensively e.g. in the Creators Project, The New Yorker and Dazed &Confused hence has a lot of clientele. One project extensively featuring Sougen’s artwork is the Centre of Selfies which explores selfies through different mediums i.e selfie sticks apps and many others. Very many of her stickers are on sale. Her work plays around with contrasts and transitions to express artistically and she uses digital, environmental and print media. She says, â€Å"Way of saying what I care about, this is me, this is that I want to be.† There is no doubt therefore that she highly regards art as means to express human feelings, ideas and concepts. Another project by artist an installation titled Chiarocuro that she presented during the 2013 edition of the Mapping festival in Geneva. As per the projects name, the installation explored the relation that exists between light and dark i.e. relation between our inner and outer existential facets. It amazes that in today’s world full of digital production of art, she still can create luminal spaces by accurately constructing personal visual language together with a combination of abstracts drawn by hand, sounds and light projections. She believes in making things all the time and is quoted as saying â€Å"The Screen is not the medium. We are.† Another great artist of modern times is Jan De Coster. He has an educational background in the subjects of physics and engineering. De Coster, began his interactive project productions in the mid 1990s and a landed a job as art director with BBDO. His major project is the ‘Slightly Over Done’ and it has earned him lots of work with advertising agencies. Despite his academic background, De Coaster has become a very successful artist and gone ahead to teach art courses at Brussels’ Erasmus High School. In his lecture the artist looked particularly at characters and insists that they speak a universal language. According to him, eyes are

The Experiences of Men Diagnosed with Breast Cancer Assignment

The Experiences of Men Diagnosed with Breast Cancer - Assignment Example Following the conduction of the study, the researchers recommended that public and health professionals should raise awareness on male breast cancer in order to encourage men to undergo testing in order to identify breast cancer and the related malignancies in their early stages (Boehmer 2012). Because of the rampant cases of late discovery of breast cancer in male patients, the study would act as a major contribution towards the enhancement of better public health. The study will be a key source material for other studies aimed at the topic of breast cancer in men. The research problem, in this case, has a clear definition of coming up with the adequate level of evidence to ensure effective medical care in the complex healthcare settings (Quach 2012). It is important to note that global health practice environment is becoming more complex, with professional requirements and patient demands increasing by the day. With such dynamic settings and demands, health professionals need adequate evidence in order to make the right health-related decisions. With this in mind, the problem is significant enough to justify the investigation. The literature review provides an adequate core evidence synthesis on the topic of the study. It involves an analysis of the available literature and thus, a judgment of the effectiveness of the practice. The literature review acts as a predetermined plan of minimizing bias in researching the topic of the study, as well as a process of ensuring rigor in making findings. The literature review of the research study creates a good basis for the stating of the hypotheses and the research questions that are involved in the study. However, the study does not clearly state the research questions. However, it able to depict the researchers’ won speculation that male patients diagnosed with breast cancer depict signs of psychological problems, such as depression.

What Extent Are Human Rights Claims Culturally Specific Politics Essay

What Extent Are Human Rights Claims Culturally Specific Politics Essay The atrocities committed against individuals in events such as slavery, the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the apartheid in South Africa caused the issue of human rights to become a major concern for all nations across the globe, particularly for the western nations. The issue of human rights, however, has its roots in natural law theories of the 17th and 18th centuries and was more firmly established contemporarily in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other covenants, conventions and declarations that were derived from it. At the core of this issue, is the controversy as to whether human rights are universal or culturally relative. Another area of disputation is the efficiency of the international community in the face of cultural practices that serve to discriminate against individuals, such as female genital mutilation, for example. The use of secondary data was applied in carrying out this research to address the above-mentioned issues. In this essay, I will attempt to find out how can universal human rights exist in a culturally diverse world. As the international community becomes increasingly integrated, how can cultural diversity and integrity are respected? Is the African Union Security Culture effective? There is no universal consensus on the definition of human rights because although human rights speak to everyone, different cultures have different concepts as to what human rights are and what they really mean. Universal human rights do not impose one cultural standard, rather one legal standard of minimum protection necessary for human dignity. As a legal standard adopted through the United Nations, universal human rights represent the hard-won consensus of the international community, not the cultural imperialism of any particular region or set of traditions. Jack Donnelly  [2]  defines human rights as a special class of rights, that is, the rights that one has simply because one is a human being. They are thus moral rights of the highest order. John Humphrey  [3]  states, when we speak of human rights [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] we usually have in mind certain rights which pertain to individual men and women because they are human beings and for no other reason. While it may not be true that all human beings are born free and equal, they are born with certain rights. Some of these rights, but not all of them are called human rights. Human rights are those rights without which there can be no human dignity. They derive from the inherent dignity of the human person as mentioned in the preambles to the two United Nations Covenants on human rights. It follows that every one possesses these rights in full equality. Human rights are intended for everyone, in every culture and are the birthright of every person. Human rights also hold that every individual has certain rights protecting him or her against the abuse of power by governments. CULTURAL RIGHTS Culture  [4]  can be defined as a shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs and attitudes that shape and influence perception and behaviour. Culture  [5]  is the totality of knowledge, skills, traditions, and customs, specific to a group of people or a civilization. It is transmitted socially from generation to generation and not by genetic inheritance, and largely determines individual behaviour. It encompasses a very broad aspect of social life: techniques, manners, morals, lifestyle, systems of values, beliefs, religious observances, family organization, etc. Every human being has the right to culture, including the right to enjoy and develop cultural life and identity. Cultural rights, however, are not unlimited. The right to culture is limited at the point to which it infringes on another human right. No right can be used at the expense or destruction of another, in accordance with international law. Similarly, cultural rights do not justify torture, murder, genocide, discrimination on grounds of sex, race, language or religion, or violation of any of the other universal human rights and fundamental freedoms established in international law. Any attempts to justify such violations on the basis of culture have no validity under international law. A Cultural Context These are some of the issues, concerns and questions underlying the debate over universal human rights and cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is the assertion that human values, far from being universal, vary a great deal according to different cultural perspectives. Some would apply this relativism to the promotion, protection, interpretation and application of human rights which could be interpreted differently within different cultural, ethnic and religious traditions. In other words, according to this view, human rights are culturally relative rather than universal. Taken to its extreme, this relativism would pose a dangerous threat to the effectiveness of international human rights laws that has been painstakingly set up with international standards, and consequently widespread disregard, abuse and violation human rights would be given legitimacy. When a traditional culture does effectively provide protection, then human rights by definition would be compatible, posing no threat to the traditional culture. As such, the traditional culture can absorb and apply human rights, and the governing State should be in a better position not only to ratify, but to effectively and fully implement, the international standards. Traditional culture is not a substitute for human rights; it is a cultural context in which human rights must be established, integrated, promoted and protected. Human rights must be approached in a way that is meaningful and relevant in diverse cultural contexts. Rather than limit human rights to suit a given culture, why not draw on traditional cultural values to reinforce the application and relevance of universal human rights? There is an increased need to emphasize the common, core values shared by all cultures: the value of life, social order and protection from arbitrary rule. These basic values are embodied in human rights. Communitarians argued that rights and justice are culturally specific and cannot be applied across borders. For communitarians, human rights cannot be defined universally because they only have meaning in terms of the social fabric of a particular society and culture that proclaim them and does not apply in the real world. Human rights would be something different in Saudi Arabia compared to the UK. Cosmopolitans see rights to have universal meaning when they are based upon human reason and that universal rights prevail over particular values because they express universal reason.  [6]   Make Peace Happen In the last decade, the security culture of the African Union (AU) has developed in some relatively radical ways. There are also new opportunities to advance the responsibility to protect (R2P) agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly World Summit in 2005. This agenda commits individual states and the international community to protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. If successfully implemented in Africa, R2P would make a tremendous contribution to promoting stability and peace. The African Union (AU) has declared 2010 the African Year of Peace and Security with its campaigns slogan Make Peace Happen. Turning this statement into reality rests in large part on the members of the AUs Peace and Security Council, the most important African institution for the day-to-day management of peace and security issues. Within the AU, support for the responsibility-to-protect principle emerged from broader concerns with promoting human rights standards on the continent. If a government proves either unable or unwilling to protect its civilians from large scale loss of life [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] then international society bears a collective responsibility to protect them and can override the sovereignty of the state in question  [7]  . Security cultures are patterns of thought and argumentation [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] concepts of the role, legitimacy and efficacy of particular approaches to protecting values.  [8]  .  [9]   Moreover, security cultures help establish the core assumptions, beliefs and values of decision-makers about how security challenges can and should be dealt with, through the process of socialization. The African Unions Constitutive Act pledges respect for human rights and rejects the widespread impunity that has characterized armed conflict and political repression in many African countries. In grave circumstances such as occurred during the Rwandan genocide, the Constitutive Act authorizes the African Union to intervene. Leading African states in the African Union have also adopted a New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD), a program to lift Africa out of poverty that explicitly recognizes the importance of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for economic development. NEPAD has also developed its own code of governance and system for peer review, but its pledges on human rights remain vague. The African Union will only succeed if it replaces the culture of impunity with the culture of accountability.  [10]   Indeed, the record of the AU was not much more impressive in the field of security-related activities. The organisation was mainly involved in setting norms and standards, but it was never effective in enforcing them. In the few cases of international wars (Somalia/Ethiopia 1977-78 and Eritrea/Ethiopia 1998-2000) the AU played virtually no role. The AU was also committed to the principle of non-alignment, but the fact that no member state ever joined any formal alliance with outside powers is probably mainly due to the fact that no alliance memberships were ever on offer, and the AU certainly failed in preventing the actual involvement of the great powers in conflicts on the continent. Without strong and interventionist versions of international distributive justice and measures associated with subsistence, economic and welfare rights, the AU will be powerless. The constructivists approach to analysing regional security dynamics as summarized by Hurrell, involves a number of central ideas: first, that, in contrast to rationalist theories, we need to pay far more attention to the processes by which both interests and identities are created and evolve, to the ways in which self-images interact with changing material incentives, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] that both interests and identities are shaped by particular histories and cultures, by domestic factors, and by ongoing processes of interaction with others.  [11]   In order to guarantee human security at the personal, institutional, and structural-cultural levels, power relations and relations of power should be underscored within a socio-cultural context. In other words, emancipation or sustainable peace-building occurs when one understands the true nature of social-cultural categories such as class, gender, ethnic equality, etc. A great deal of peace-building deals with issues of security within a positivist-rational epistemology. Human security is therefore a situation or a condition free of injury or threats to an individuals, or communitys well-being, including freedom from direct physical attacks and psychological integrity. To ensure such security involves the understanding of human security located at the structural, institutional, and personal levels of society. It involves an attempt to understand human security or insecurity in terms of those who experience them. What motivates the dissatisfied to agitate and their beliefs as marginalized individuals should be seriously taken into account, instead of merely imposing policies on them. Constructivism as an approach is a useful theoretical lens in understanding the true nature of things such as collective violence, class, gender, and racial issues, among others. Within these units emancipation occurs when the accurate picture of the situation is understood. Constructivists operate on the ontological assumption that actors are shaped by the socio-cultural milieu in which they live. Constructivists try to go beyond the descriptive aspect of a situation to an understanding of the motives of a community in order to explain how they behave and what causes political outcomes. Constructivism is not only limited to the influence of norms and social understandings on different actors (individuals, groups, and states), it also investigates why the norms and inter-subjective beliefs often had different influences on different actors. Many constructivist studies have emphasized the ways in which ideas and norms become more powerful in their effect than conventional conceptions of strong state interests. In conclusion, this essay has considered many different arguments, cultures in the world are in many cases conflicting and the diversities in the world can make it difficult to have a universal consensus, especially when it comes to personal rights. While it is worth considering the western interpretation of human rights, the human rights doctrine should not have to make allowances for differences in morality. When it considers a right to be fundamental and important, this should mean it is universal. The function of Human rights is to improve the individuals life and the way it does this is not to make allowances for customs and traditions that should not be considered acceptable. For the time being it is a virtual impossibility to make economic compatibility a reality, as the differing political systems do not allow for this. However this does not mean that human rights in general are not compatible with multiculturalism. We are all humans, with basic wants and needs. Being granted these wants and needs does not take away anything from the differing cultures on the contrary the Human rights protect our right to be different, through cultural identity and religion amongst other rights. The basic rights of humans should not be based on culture but on what improves peoples life in the most effective way. Diversity does not affect human needs, and therefore should not affect, at least at the most fundamental level, the universal doctrine of human rights. 2194 Words

The Rule of Law Essay examples -- fair legal system

The rule of law is a difficult concept to grasp and proves elusive to substantive definition. However, the following work considers the attempts of various social and legal theorists to define the concept and pertinent authorities are considered. Attitudes and emphasis as to the exact shape, form and content of the rule of law differ quite widely depending on the socio-political perspective and views of respective commentators (Slapper and Kelly, 2009, p16), although there are common themes that are almost universally adopted. The conclusions to this work endeavour to consolidate thinking on the rule of law in order to address the question posed in the title, which is at first sight a deceptively simple one. The rule of law Modern legislation places the ‘rule of law’ firmly at the heart of the English legal system. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005, for example, states in section 1 that the Act does not adversely affect ‘the existing constitutional principle of the rule of law’. Moreover, the oath required to be taken by the Lord Chancellor, as specified in section 17(1) of the 2005 Act, pledges that the rule of law will be respected alongside defence of the independence of the judiciary. Unhelpfully perhaps, at least in the context of the question posed in the title to this work, the 2005 Act does not provide a definition of the concept of the rule of law. As Lord Bingham observed in a 2006 lecture, the draughtsmen of the 2005 Act seemingly acknowledged the difficulty of establishing an accurate, comprehensive and succinct definition appropriate for incorporation in the statute, and so left the job of definition to the judiciary in their subsequent interpretation and application of the Act (Bingham, 2006, Sixth Sir Dav... ...yranny begins.† (Locke, 1690). This Lockean stance emphasises the importance of the rule of law as a golden precept and inviolable principle that controls the way in which a State’s power is exercised over its citizens or subjects. BIBLIOGRAPHY Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Dicey A.V., An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, (1885) Locke, J., The Second Treatise of Civil Government, (1690) Hayek F.A., The Road to Serfdom, (1994) University of Chicago Press Lord Bingham of Cornhill, ‘The Rule of Law’, November 2006, Sixth Sir David Williams Lecture, Centre for Public Law, University of Cambridge Raz J., ‘The Rule of Law and its virtue’, (1977) 93 LQR 195 Slapper G. & Kelly D., The English Legal System (2009) Routledge Cavendish Thompson E.P. (Thompson D. (ed)), The Essential EP Thompson, (2001) The New Press