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Literary notes about Tendency (AI summary)

In literature “tendency” is utilized as a multifaceted term that captures both natural inclinations and observable patterns in human behavior, society, and even nature. Classical writers, for instance, used it to highlight the inherent predispositions in political and social structures—illustrating, for example, the revolutionary tendency found in absolute monarchy ([1]) or the mischievous tendency embedded in Spartan discipline ([2]). Meanwhile, modern thinkers and scientists extended its application to innate behaviors and biological phenomena, as seen in Darwin’s discussion of species variation ([3]) and the inherited tendency to blush ([4], [5]). This diversity is further enriched by its use in discussing psychological drives and stylistic shifts, such as the instinctive tendency to mimic others ([6]) or to adopt a dramatic brevity in writing ([7]). Thus, “tendency” functions as a bridge between empirical observation and the more abstract realms of art, morality, and ideology in literary discourse.
  1. With respect, however, to absolute monarchy, it presents an inherent and invincible tendency to revolution.
    — from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero
  2. Other Greek writers saw the mischievous tendency of Spartan discipline (Arist.
    — from The Republic of Plato by Plato
  3. We see this tendency to become striped most strongly displayed in hybrids from between several of the most distinct species.
    — from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
  4. p. 361) the tendency to the secretion of tears during intense blushing.
    — from The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin
  5. The tendency to blush is inherited.
    — from The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin
  6. According to this theory, social control of individuals rests upon the instinctive tendency of individuals to imitate or copy the actions of others.
    — from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey
  7. I notice a growing tendency to dramatic brevity, to dashes and pauses in my style, to a punctuation of bows and attitudes.
    — from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells

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