...beautiful thing. But as beautiful as all the progress humans have made in society and just overall growth many believe it’s our ultimate downfall. There is a handful of philosophers believe the human races ignorance, selfishness, and carelessness will comeback and lead to human’s downfall. One of these philosophers is Ronald Wright and after reading his book A Short History of Progress I can see his point of view on this issue and a lot of it makes sense. In the book Wright shows how in the past civilizations progress sooner or later got wiped out by their own mistakes, which he believes that exact thing is happening...
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...Even though Macbeth was the one to kill King Duncan and commit the subsequent murders, he would have never even thought of doing so had the Weird Sisters not told him his prophecy or had his wife not eagerly prodded him into action. Macbeth is also a strong individualist, which is also a traditional characteristic of tragic heroes. After killing King Duncan, Macbeth plots murders in such a way so as to preserve his own place on the throne, and after hearing of his doomed fate from the witches vows to act on his own will without hesitation. Like other tragic heroes, Macbeth represents mankind as a whole in a certain way. Macbeth's quest for power represents the universal ambition of mankind, and his tale of ultimate downfall represents the dangers of this ambition. Finally, Macbeth faces isolation (much like other tragic heroes) towards the end of the play. By then, most of his men have deserted to fight against him with the English army, and those who remain don't appear to wholeheartedly support him and his cause. In addition, Lady Macbeth commits suicide not long before the war, leaving Macbeth truly alone in every way. Macbeth ultimately stands alone in his final battle, and there is no one left to defend him from Macduff or mourn him when he's been killed. Macbeth exhibits most of the common characteristics of tragic heroes, allowing...
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...are similar in many interesting ways. Statement of Purpose I am a Christian, and in writing this piece I am in no way saying that Christianity is a myth. It is my intention to point out how Greek mythology and Christianity are similar, and nothing more. It is interesting to learn how ancient people lived and worshiped, and psychology finds mythology useful in classifying modern modes of action. Three Major Ways Greek Mythology and Christianity are Similar Although the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece are not worshiped today, this ancient religion is still comparable to modern Christianity. Greek mythology and Christianity are similar in that they: (1) teach a moral way of life; (2) teach that a woman (Pandora or Eve) caused the downfall of mankind; (3) and both have a savior figure. Although Greek mythology and Christianity are similar, they differ in their concept of sacrifice, punishment, and doctrine, and I will discuss this in a separate piece. A Moral Way of Life To begin, Greek mythology and Christianity are similar in that they both teach a moral way of life. Every myth in the ancient Greek culture was comprised to teach some sort of lesson. The story of Arachne illustrates how Christianity and the stories of Greek mythology are similar. 123 Arachne expressed extreme hubris or pride in her weaving abilities; excessive hubris was considered a very unfavorable...
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...heme: Mankind’s own technology will lead to its downfall and self-destruction. By Waters of Babylon: The vision of the men destroying themselves. “I have been in the fights with the Forest People -- I have seen them die. But this was not like that. When god's war with gods, they use weapons we do not know. It was fire falling out of the sku and a mist that poisoned. It was the time of the Great Burning and the Destruction.” (P. 7 Last paragraph) Nightmare #3: Mankind built advanced machinery but craved to make them more efficient and as the machines were brought to life they started to rebel against the people that manufactured them. On line 17-20 it says, “The ones we’d built to be better than flesh and bone,” But the cars were in...
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...“Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of other. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.” -Mwai Kibaki People continue to say that society today is corrupt. What they do not realize, however, is that they are the ones who make up the society that they find so unethical. What causes the idea that the system of social acceptance is used to demoralize the weaker individual is the view of others on the community as a whole. Decent or not, how people are viewed by others will always depend on the specific traits that characterize that person. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the character Jack Merridew’s downfall is caused by one of his traits: greed. Jack Merridew is the antagonist of the story. "…he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and...
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...n Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King. Both sides of the argument can be greatly supported. The Greeks believed in the idea that personality of the individual greatly affected his or her life (Nagle 120). Their personality was what decides their own free will. A wise man will make good decisions in his life; an ignorant and stubborn man won't be so fortunate. The character traits of a person have a certain positive or negative affect on the choices that he or she makes. For Oedipus, one of these attributes was the desire for knowledge and truth about his own existence. This driving force in the play led to the truth of his origin. This ties in with his own aspect of free will. His free will is based on his drive for knowledge. Throughout the entire play, Oedipus pushes Tiresias, Creon, Jocasta, the oracle, the messenger, and the shepherd for information regarding his beginnings. Each one of these characters in some way or form refused to give him a thorough answer...
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...I have doubts. Doubts because I am a young, where mankind sees me as reckless, and confidence in the young is foolish. Mankind makes many mistakes, some that are helpful and others that are disastrous. Man continues to destroy the earth and yet at the same time, he prospers. I believe that we can not look back. Generations ahead of me can look and see themselves in the past, a very calm and relaxed place. But I can only see where I am now. A world of brilliance, of speed, of change, and yet even though humans have come so far, we are weak. We are vulnerable to violence and cruelty. Elements of our weakness, that if placed in the wrong hands, can cause the downfall of man. I believe in peace, in stability, and yet I fear we approach darkness and war. I fear few of us will be able to remember such times of peace and happiness. Man is capable of overcoming any challenge. He moves with slowness and has infinite mistakes, but he is also capable of great heights. Man has made critical errors which have turned the world over, but he continues to adjust. We work toward darkness just as we can work toward light. I believe in history. I believe it is a mistake to take ourselves too seriously. Man thinks he is developed, but he is not. I think we are savage, reveling in greed and power only to further ourselves. I believe in time, where man can fail and succeed only to have to start over again, because time is infinite. I think I use time unwisely, that man uses time unwisely, because...
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...Ishmael, a gorilla that can somehow telepathically communicate with people, is mentoring a middle-aged, no-named writer who isn't exactly the brightest person on Earth. Ishmael helps the writer understand how most of mankind is playing out a story that will eventually destroy the world, while a small minority of people live in communion with the community of life and can lead to an eventually brighter future. Ishmael teaches about captivity, identity, and evolution in the forms of “takers” and “leavers” (140), as well as “mother culture” (20) and “civilized peoples”(22). The first name that was given to Ishmael was Goliath, which makes him more self-aware of his personal identity, but a name is only a name, and not one's whole identity like names so often force onto someone. He teaches that we do not need to accept the identity that we were born with, but can make our own destiny. Names are just another way for “mother culture” to imprison people in her game. Ishmael was raised in captivity and it is what he considered to be his “area of educational expertise” and...
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...creation of earth God existed. The politically correct worldview has been the “heart to the backbone” of the bible from Genesis all the way through Revelation. PART II The question of origin (Genesis 1:27) (Genesis 1:28) The belief by Christians that the one and only God was the creator of mankind. The worldview (Christian) supports that in six days that God created the world and all of the beautiful creations within. During this time span two people were created: a man (Adam) and a woman (Eve.) This was the start of the origination of the world’s population. On the seventh day God rested. The question of Identity (Genesis 1:27) (Genesis 1:28-30) The Bible states that mankind was created in God’s image and similar likeness, to revive and surge the earth and have every living thing on earth in his control/power. Animals are unlike mankind because animals don’t have a spirit and body whereas we do; the lacking of that one value by animals is that they were not created in God’s image. The question of Meaning/Purpose (John 17:3) (Matthew 28:19-20) As in the evolutionary theory; the purpose of life is to live each day as if it were your last. The belief by Christians that mankind is to worship/glorify God, have obedience, and through our prayers Meaning and Purpose is proven and given by the sacrifice of Christ and...
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...wily intelligence, craftsmanship and forethought. His main work was to create mankind out of clay (earth and water). It is from this work that Prometheus developed his fond liking for mankind (Jone, 2009). He strived to make mankind have more power than the liking of Zeus who was the supreme ruler of the gods. Ancient Greek viewed Prometheus as the god who championed mankind’s interest. Prometheus is famous for a couple of incidences discussed below. THE STORY OF FIRE According to classic Greek mythology; at some point in the reign of Zeus, mankind and gods were disputing and to settle the dispute, Zeus and Prometheus devised a ceremonial party in the form of animal sacrifice. Once slaughtered, Prometheus divided the animal parts into two. In one part, he wrapped up ox-bones in fat of the slaughtered animal while the other part he wrapped up the main ox-meat using its stomach lining. To rival Zeus judgment ability, he presented both parts of the sacrifice to Zeus while wrapped and proceeded to ask Zeus to choose from the two. Zeus proceeded to choose the part covered in fat not knowing it only contained bones in it! Here, Prometheus had tricked Zeus into believing that the part covered in fat would contain the best meat. In so doing he helped mankind by ensuring that they would always receive the part with the most meat. As a result of Prometheus deception to Zeus, he ensured that whenever mankind offered sacrifice to the gods, they would always receive the meat as long as...
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...Since time immemorial, mankind has created objects and methods to make their lives easier. We commonly refer to these innovations as technology. From the first wooden spear created by the caveman to the latest augmented reality of today’s Silicon Valley, these innovations have been technology. Since technology has been adopted, there have been naysayers that have always spouted the same lines of “This technology is going to ruin us” and “This technology is evil”. In this essay, we will show the duality of technology by the destructive nature of it, the beneficial nature, and the choices mankind makes when it puts these technologies into practice. In 1945, at 5:29:45 a.m., the Manhattan Project came to an explosive end as the first atom bomb...
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...by Mary Shelley. In the book, Frankenstein’s creation shows how human emotions can be driven to believe that there is nothing to the world, but hatred and revenge. Showcasing the human emotion that drives our need for revenge is best shown in the book, Frankenstein. In it, Frankenstein’s creation goes through many dramatic events after being abandoned by his creator. Like after he enters someone's home and is found eating their food, he gets chased out of a village by the villagers for stealing. Another time he gets rejected is when saves a girl from drowning in a river. Instead of being reward as a savior, he is reward with a bullet to the shoulder and is seen as a villain. After this he “vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all of mankind(101)”. He has been brought to this because he has found no love or kindness in the world due to his hideously, horrid figure that his creator choice to give life to....
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...Wesley Kivett World Religions December 11, 2011, Darin Metz Seeking the Highest Good Breaking down the religions of this world has been a task of mankind for centuries. Theologians and Philosophers have studied the very core of many world religions trying to find the similarities between the religions. Debates and many of hours have been put into this research trying to find out who is right and who is wrong. When we look at three of the leading religions of the world, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity there are similarities and differences between them, but the meaning in which they are taught are very different. Since the beginning of time mankind has always been seeking for a greater understanding of life and what our purpose is here on earth. Many have written books on how to find the meaning of life and how to focus on your purpose, or could we say, seeking a higher good. As we look at these three religions it is difficult to even begin to see how three religions that are so far apart can find common ground. Taking each one of them individually and trying to pinpoint their relationships can be very challenging. Lao-Tsu (570-490 B.C.) wrote the following on the highest good in his Tao Te Ching: "The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle...
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...In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, he creates a dystopian society where people have lost all of their human qualities and basic human rights. People are forced to be slaves to the totalitarian leaders, “Big Brother” and “The Party“. Erich Fromm discussed in the afterword of 1984 that the book itself was written as a warning to mankind; our society, slowly but surely is becoming just as soulless and empty as the world described in 1984. The increasing pressure to follow society’s standards of beauty and success is causing people to become empty vessels with no individuality. Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it seems that beauty is really in the eye of society. People spend so much time trying to be what society wants,...
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...Poetry Essay Aldain Barham Liberty University English 102 Thesis Statement: The poem is a great example of communicative techniques and display of mood. Themes of the poem include man and nature, life and religion to list a few. Because the identity of the poet isn't really entailed in the poem but further investigation on him has given me answers which prove relevant to the poem. Although the setting of the poem isn't explicitly listed in the poem one can get a feel of the setting due to the fact that it was written in 1877 which was in the industrialization era. And all of the themes are strongly conveyed within the poem and descriptive in nature. (1. Themes a. Man and Nature b. Life c. Religion (2. Setting a. Industrialization Era b. 1877 (3. Mood a. Melancholy The poem I choose to discus in my essay is “God’s Grandeur” by Gerald Manley Hopkins, and was first captivated by the form of which the Poem is written in which is an Italian Sonnet. As we delve deeper into the poem we noticed it isn’t subjugated to one theme but has an abundance of themes such as man and nature, life and religion to list a few. In line two of the poem we see that Gerald Manley Hopkins states, “It will flame out, like shining from shook foil,” indicating that once was will eventually flame and cease to exist. We see this happening with nature in our current state will the rapid depletion of many nature resources and the continual decline predicted...
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