PMS KPK 2022 Solved Essay | Money And Success Do Not Change People; They Merely Amplify What Is Already There | CSS and PMS Solved Essays by Sir Syed Kazim Ali Students
Sadaf Ghufran attempts the essay on the given pattern, which Sir Syed Kazim Ali teaches his students, who have consistently been qualifying their CSS and PMS essays. Sir Syed Kazim Ali has been Pakistan’s top English writing and CSS, PMS essay and precis coach with the highest success rate of his students. The essay is uploaded to help other competitive aspirants learn and practice essay writing techniques and patterns.
Outline
Introduction
Thesis Statement: Money and success don’t fundamentally change a person’s character; they simply amplify existing tendencies, be it generosity or greed.
- ✓ People are already who they choose to be every day
- ✓ Money, not making people bad or good, amplifying the true character
- ✓ The biological, naturalist, and evolutionary approaches to personality, prove that essential components of nature are inherited
- ✓ Communication between different areas of the brain, psychodynamic approach to personality, and nature versus nurture debate, further proving money and success do not change people
- ✓ While money and success do not change people, influencing the way people think and act toward others
Money is neither good nor bad
- ✓ Money amplifies the character
- ✓ Example of a drug addict
- ✓ Example of Mother Teresa
Understanding why money and success do not change people
- ✓ The biological and evolutionary approaches to personality
- Genes, determine the personality
- Research studies conducted on identical twins raised apart
- ✓ Naturalist view on personality
- Human beings, inherit behaviours due to a complex interaction of genes
- Darwin’s Theory of Evolution led naturalists such as George Williams, William Hamilton, and many others to the idea of personality evolution
- ✓ Brain contribution to personality
- Communication between different areas of the brain influences the personality
- The fMRI images reveal that the more extroverted a person is, the stronger the connection of the amygdala
- ✓ Psychodynamic approaches to personality
- Personality, motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which people have little awareness
- Freud’s views on unconscious
- ✓ The roots of adult personality emerge early in life
- Infants born with a specific temperament
- Temperament quite consistent, with significant stability from infancy well into adolescence
- ✓ Nature versus Nurture debate in the origin of moral disposition
- Levy, a psychologist, asserts that evolution gives human beings a precondition of morality
- Human beings are animals and can never free themselves of their biological heritage
✓ Examples showing that money and success only amplify what is already there
- Money in and of itself does not make anyone truly good or bad; the amplifier of the current character
- Evil already exists, and that money will feed the evil
- Self-confessed ‘shopaholic’ or a compulsive gambler, money is just an amplifier
✓ Critical Analysis
✓ Conclusion
Most people have a built-in idea about Someday, an elusive day when everything finally falls into place, and they start the company, start training for the race, or finally make a ton of money. But they are already who they choose to be every day. Money is nothing more than an amplifier. In other words, money does not make a person bad or good. Money can only amplify what is already in there – the true character. For example, if someone is generous and giving by nature, then having money will amplify his abundance mindset and open up more opportunities for him to give freely. And by the same token, someone greedy or with questionable integrity will continue to be that way with or without money. Having money would amplify their selfishness and greed. In this regard, a list of factors proves money and success do not change people. First, the biological and evolutionary approaches to personality suggest that important components of personality are inherited. Second, naturalists believe that personality is natural. It believes humans inherit behaviours due to a complex interaction of genes. Third, personality is also influenced by how different areas of the brain communicate with each other. Moreover, the psychodynamic approaches to personality further explain why money and success do not change people. Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that the roots of adult personality emerge early in life. Last but not least, Levy, a psychologist, examines the role played by nature and nurture in the origin of moral dispositions. Therefore, money and success do not change people; they merely amplify what is already there. Thus, the essay comprehensively discusses why money and success do not change people and how money and success only act as amplifiers.
Dozens of definitions of money exist in literature. “It is a tool for freedom.” “It is the source of happiness.” “It is the root of all evil.” All these definitions are wrong. Money is neither good nor bad. Ultimately, it doesn’t offer freedom or manifest evil. Money amplifies character. It allows someone to repeat their ingrained habits easily. And unless they have developed a strong, humble character coupled with good habits, more and more money will become more and more of a problem. For example, if someone has a drug addiction (a bad habit) and gets tons of money, he is likely to do more drugs. Money amplifies the bad habit. It amplifies the character. Similarly, Mother Teresa is an excellent example in point. She used it to serve more orphanages when she got tons of money. She used it to do more of her good habits. Here too, money amplifies character.
The above example shows that money and success do not change people; they merely amplify what is already there. Here, the light will be thrown on some of the factors that prove why money and success do not change people. To begin with, the biological and evolutionary approaches to personality suggest that important components of personality are inherited. Building on the work of behavioural geneticists, researchers using biological and evolutionary approaches argue that character is determined at least in part by the genes in much the same way that height is largely a result of genetic contributions from the ancestors. In this regard, the results of research studies conducted on twins who are genetically identical but raised apart illustrate the importance of genetic factors in personality. Personality tests indicate that in major respects, genetically identical twins raised apart are quite similar in personality, despite having been separated at an early age and provided with very different circumstances and environments. Thus, the biological and evolutionary approaches provide enough evidence to suggest that money and success do not change people.
Further, according to naturalists, personality is natural. This group believes that personality is a result of an evolutionary process. It believes humans inherit behaviours due to a complex interaction of genes. As such, genes control their behaviours. They believe that form and characteristics measured with personality tests remain stable throughout human life. They further believe that humans may sharpen their types or personalities but can never change them altogether. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution led naturalists such as George Williams, William Hamilton, and many others to the idea of personality evolution. They proposed that physical organs and personality are the results of natural selection. Human beings do as their genes dictate. Thus, money and success cannot change genes and, as a result, do not change people.
In addition to genes’ contribution, personality is also influenced by how different areas of the brain communicate with each other. For example, the fMRI images revealed that the more extroverted a person is, the stronger the connection of the amygdala (an area of the brain associated with emotions) to other emotion-related areas of the brain, such as the insula, putamen, and temporal pole. These stronger connections may reflect heightened sensitivity to rewards and enhanced socioemotional functioning in extroverts. Thus, money and success cannot alter the communication pattern of neurons within the brain. As a result, they do not change the people.
Moreover, the psychodynamic approaches to personality answer why money and success cannot change people. These are based on the idea that personality is primarily unconscious and motivated by inner forces and conflicts that people have little awareness of. Freud, the father of the psychodynamic approach to psychology, argued that much of behaviour is motivated by the unconscious, a part of the personality that contains the memories, knowledge, beliefs, feelings, urges, drives, and instincts of which the individual is unaware. Thus, money and success do not change the personality of individuals.
Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that the roots of adult personality emerge early in life. Infants are born with a specific temperament, an individual’s behavioural style and a distinctive way of responding. Temperament encompasses several dimensions, including general activity level and mood. For instance, some individuals are pretty active, while others are relatively calm. Similarly, some are reasonably easygoing, whereas others are irritable, easily upset, and difficult to soothe. Temperament is relatively consistent, with significant stability from infancy well into adolescence. Thus, it again proves that the presence or absence of money and success does not change people. However, they may amplify what already exists there.
To add a little further, Levy, a psychologist, examines the roles played by nature and nurture in the origin of moral dispositions. He asserts that Evolution gives human beings a precondition of morality. However, he states that Evolution gives us the preconditions of morality, but it is only as a result of the cultural elaboration of this raw material that we come to be moral beings. He further states that humans are animals and can never free themselves from their biological heritage. Finally, he states that human beings do not need it since it enables flexibility, rational, and caring behaviour, which they could want and allows them to seek to become more moral. Thus, Levy’s findings suggest that money and success do not change people.
“Top 15 Things Money Can’t Buy Time. Happiness. Inner Peace. Integrity. Love. Character. Manners. Health. Respect. Morals. Trust. Patience. Class. Common sense. Dignity.”
― Roy T. Bennett
The above-discussed factors prove that money and success do not change people; they merely amplify what is already there. Here are some examples to further support the fact that money and success are just amplifiers. The first is that money in and of itself does not make anyone truly good or bad. Instead, it works like an amplifier of the current character. So, with money, selfish people become more selfish, and generous people become more giving. Kind people become kinder, and cruel people become even more so. The happy become even happier, and the sad people become more miserable. Money is a resource of life, an amplifying energy that expands someone as they already are.
Second, when people say that money is the root of all evil, the more accurate conclusion is that evil already exists and that money will feed evil. The same is true for time. If someone has an unhealthy relationship with time, suddenly having more of it won’t allow him to achieve what he wants to achieve. Instead, it will fuel whatever is already present. If someone uses his time and money wisely, they can help him live a better life. If he is careless with them, they can destroy his life and who he is as a person.
“Money can be a good servant or a sadistic master; the choice is ultimately yours.”
— Liz O’Brien
To add a little further, if someone is a self-confessed ‘shopaholic’ then it doesn’t matter how much money he has; he will always find a way to spend it. If someone is a compulsive gambler, then he will keep raising his bids higher and higher in relation to the amount of money he has. So, it doesn’t matter how much money someone makes because if he does not have healthy boundaries with his inner child, he will always live above his means. Money will never solve personal issues; personal growth will. Money will never repair a flawed character; money will not buy someone good manners, loyal friends, a loving family, romantic love, patience, confidence, security, peace of mind, or wisdom.
However, despite the overwhelming evidence that money and success do not change people, critics will argue in the opposite direction. They will claim that the world and human life are materialistic, and thus those with money are happier than their counterparts without it. However, based on the arguments highlighted throughout this essay, it is clear that such an argument is simplistic as it fails to account for the diminishing marginal utility in the context of changing temperament, character, or personality. The empirical evidence provided in the essay is robust enough to show that money and success do not change people; they merely amplify what is already there.
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