Question Authority Only by questioning accepted wisdom can we advance our understanding of the world

Essay topics:

Question Authority. Only by questioning accepted wisdom can we advance our understanding of the world.

Right from our childhoods, most of us are taught to not question authority. We are taught to respect our elders, listen to our teachers without question, and obey our parents unflinchingly. As children we were inquisitive and curious, unafraid to ask even the silliest questions to any who would answer us. However as we grow up and are fed the rules of society, most of us learn to be subservient and take what an authoritative figure gives us without question, while the few who do question, are ridiculed and made out to be fools. And perhaps that is what limits us and our understanding of the world.

It is imperative to question accepted wisdom. 'Why', 'How', 'What', 'When': how are we as a society supposed to grow and develop if we do not ask these questions? Some of the greatest discoveries in the world have come about because people questioned regular, accepted happenings. 'Why did the apple fall?' Would we have understood gravity as we understand it today if Newton hadn't questioned what had, at that time, been happening for centuries? Questions open up a search for answers, if we do not question, the world would be stagnant. If everyone was content with what is already known, then we wouldn't have any space for new developments, discoveries or inventions.

Not only is it important to question accepted wisdom, but also those in authority. Criticism is the backbone of any democracy and coming from a country that has seen a steep rightward shift in its politics in the last 5 years, it has become increasingly clear to me why authority must be questioned. I have seen politicians, both local and national get away with serious crimes, because the citizens and media refused to question them. Lack of healthy debate about the government’s decisions can have serious consequences for the citizens. I have seen laws and bills being passed without questioning why they are needed, or how they would be implemented. Some of these unquestioned reforms have set the country's economy on a downward spiral, others have successfully oppressed marginalised people while the government with the help of a lapdog media works to keep up the image of a 'democratic country'.

Of course, values like discipline, obedience must be instilled in children, of course we owe basic respect and decency to authority figures, and of course, we must respect all the wisdom that has helped us understand our world. But asking questions is not the disrespect that Authority mistakes it to be and we must not be afraid to do it.

Questions are not only an efficient way to judge our understanding of what we don't know yet, they can also be tools that make sure that people in power are not misusing their authrority. Sometimes, the world may laugh at people who ask questions, but ultimately it is those who question that change the world.

Votes
Average: 6.2 (1 vote)
Essay Categories

Comments

Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 308, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: However,
...t questions to any who would answer us. However as we grow up and are fed the rules of ...
^^^^^^^
Line 2, column 1, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...us and our understanding of the world. It is imperative to question accepted wi...
^^^
Line 3, column 367, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING
Message: Possible spelling mistake found
Suggestion: hadn't
...ity as we understand it today if Newton hadnt questioned what had, at that time, been...
^^^^^
Line 3, column 590, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING
Message: Possible spelling mistake found
Suggestion: wouldn't
...ent with what is already known, then we wouldnt have any space for new developments, di...
^^^^^^^
Line 9, column 79, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING
Message: Possible spelling mistake found
Suggestion: don't
...y to judge our understanding of what we dont know yet, they can also be tools that m...
^^^^

Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, however, if, may, so, still, then, while, of course

Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments

Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 28.0 19.5258426966 143% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 11.0 12.4196629213 89% => OK
Conjunction : 21.0 14.8657303371 141% => OK
Relative clauses : 13.0 11.3162921348 115% => OK
Pronoun: 54.0 33.0505617978 163% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 55.0 58.6224719101 94% => OK
Nominalization: 11.0 12.9106741573 85% => OK

Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2354.0 2235.4752809 105% => OK
No of words: 484.0 442.535393258 109% => OK
Chars per words: 4.86363636364 5.05705443957 96% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.69041575982 4.55969084622 103% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.83915272529 2.79657885939 102% => OK
Unique words: 247.0 215.323595506 115% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.510330578512 0.4932671777 103% => OK
syllable_count: 725.4 704.065955056 103% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.59117977528 94% => OK

A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 7.0 6.24550561798 112% => OK
Article: 2.0 4.99550561798 40% => OK
Subordination: 6.0 3.10617977528 193% => OK
Conjunction: 7.0 1.77640449438 394% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 3.0 4.38483146067 68% => OK

Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 22.0 20.2370786517 109% => OK
Sentence length: 22.0 23.0359550562 96% => OK
Sentence length SD: 58.0412364097 60.3974514979 96% => OK
Chars per sentence: 107.0 118.986275619 90% => OK
Words per sentence: 22.0 23.4991977007 94% => OK
Discourse Markers: 2.81818181818 5.21951772744 54% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.97078651685 101% => OK
Language errors: 5.0 7.80617977528 64% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 12.0 10.2758426966 117% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 5.13820224719 97% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 5.0 4.83258426966 103% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?

Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.452307609192 0.243740707755 186% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.149559613431 0.0831039109588 180% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0994727558979 0.0758088955206 131% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.261532527347 0.150359130593 174% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0637802761018 0.0667264976115 96% => OK

Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 12.5 14.1392134831 88% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 57.61 48.8420337079 118% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.92365168539 111% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 10.7 12.1743820225 88% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 10.91 12.1639044944 90% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.15 8.38706741573 97% => OK
difficult_words: 105.0 100.480337079 104% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 11.0 11.8971910112 92% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.8 11.2143820225 96% => OK
text_standard: 11.0 11.7820224719 93% => OK
What are above readability scores?

---------------------

Rates: 62.5 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 3.75 Out of 6
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.