to see that human beings don’t ﬁght

English translation: stop people fighting

17:35 Apr 24, 2024

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: to see that human beings don’t ﬁght

The sentence:

I worked with my thesis adviser, developmental
psychologist Elliot Turiel, to oﬀer children
hypothetical scenarios and ask questions. If a team
captain has to fetch a runaway ball for their team to
stay in a tournament, should they do it even if it means
ignoring the fact that a little kid is being bullied
nearby? Younger children focused on getting the ball, but nine- or 10-year-olds were more willing to violate
a convention—the obligation to take care of the team
by retrieving the ball—to help the bullied child. As one
student said, “Someone could get hurt, and even
though you don’t win anything, it’s still good to see
that human beings don’t ﬁght.”

The wider context is the same as in a previous question of mine (http://www.proz.com/kudoz/7182179?pwd=1MkA), namely, an article published in Scientific American on how to promote the moral development of children (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-re...

My question is: considering also the fact that the speaker is a 9- or 10-years-old child, how do you read the verb "to see" in the last sentence? As plain "observe" (perception: as in "I see a pretty flower") or as "assure" (action: as in "Please see that you're all here on time tomorrow")?

To me it's the second, but I'd like to have some native speakers' opinion (but everybody is welcome, of course).

Alfredo Tutino KudoZ activity Questions: 25 (none open) (5 closed without grading) Answers: 1049
Local time: 20:51

Selected answer:stop people fighting

Explanation:
I don't think it can mean 'observe', because humans do fight.

Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States

Grading comment

Thank you for editing my question and for your answer. Thanks, also, to all those who contributed with an answer, an agree or a discussion entry.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +7

stop people fighting

philgoddard

4 +2

see to it that human beings don't fight

Jennifer Levey

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +7

stop people fighting

Explanation:
I don't think it can mean 'observe', because humans do fight.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 123

Grading comment

Thank you for editing my question and for your answer. Thanks, also, to all those who contributed with an answer, an agree or a discussion entry.

36 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

see to it that human beings don't fight

Explanation:
'see' in the ST is a 'conversational shortcut' for the verbal phrase "see to it that", which means "to make sure that something is done"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/see to it#:~:text...

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/englis...

Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 14:51
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 27

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to see that human beings don’t ﬁght

English translation: stop people fighting

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to see that human beings don’t ﬁght

English translation: stop people fighting

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