...Letter to a Philosopher Helene Torres PHI 105 March 4, 2013 Randall Knighton Letter to a Philosopher Dear John Dewey, I am so delighted that a very significantly philosopher of such great magnitude, as yourself, will take time out to read my letter. I wanted to express my sincere respect as well as support concerning your philosophies, which have been accepted by people all over the world and endured the test of times. The principle regarding ‘Pragmatism Philosophy’, specifically, which accurately details a notion that rejects thoughts, which are not complete reality. For instance, “There is [no] such thing as a fixed, absolute truth” (Moore & Bruder, 2011, p. 206). This truth being relative to time, place, purpose, and is always modifying in light of new statistics, that being facts. As a philosopher, many have recognized you as being America’s notable philosopher of your time. In addition I had read that you were not satisfied to bring forth theories; but instead came forward to accentuate your own concepts of liberalism, and, with the resolution of a champion, you were prepared to provide your title and status to foundations that were scowled upon by demure society. I believe there is no other way things should be seen in life, if not reality. For you to support those that look scowl upon these societies only gives me more respect for you, not only as a philosopher, but a human being. To be pragmatic, in philosophy or in ordinary life, is, above all...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...Letter to a European Philosopher PHI/105 03-12-12 Jason Chang Letter to a European Philosopher Dear Mr. Kierkegaard, I have read about your philosophy and I have to tell that I am inclined to disagree with your findings on the individual’s sickness-to-death because of having to make rational and ethical decisions throughout life. While I must agree that it is not easy and it does bring much stress to make these types of decisions; it doesn’t matter what the subject is, I disagree that making the right choices in life or having to go through that process is what ultimately is going to kill us or bring us to despair and that there is absolutely nothing in this “earthly realm” that can save us from it except committing to God or to the infinite. God is, has been and will probably always be something that people can lean on in times of despair and it seems to work for a lot of people in helping maintain their sanity. As to the infinite I do not see any benefit on committing to something that we know nothing of and will ultimately never know much about. A man can go through life and knock down any obstacle that is put in his way and this can be done the right way or the wrong way. As existentialism explains, the world is irrational or beyond total comprehension and the individual has the ultimate choice on how they decide to live in this irrational world. So, one...
Words: 597 - Pages: 3
...Letter to a European Philosopher You talk in great detail about how you view the common man and how he feels about the world. You suggest that man is no better than a herd animal. You also have invented your “Superman” to explain away your own narcissism. Calling that man an Übermensch, you declare that this person is the only one who has the strength of will to change his life and rise above the herd. The Übermensch you talk about is essentially an extremely intelligent yet immature, possibly even socially retarded egotist. These are precisely the type of people who would be drawn in by your Doctrine. These people tend to pleasure in things that make them seem more important. I understand that your father, who by all accounts was a man of God, died when you were very young. As a result of this tragedy your mother along with your other female relatives lavished you with too much affection and no doubt catered to your every whim, giving you an overwhelming sense of self importance. One of your more famous quotes asks a very simple but troubling question, “Is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s?” I am not going to pretend to understand a lot of what your personal philosophies mean, but I do know that much of what you theorize, although on the surface may seem true, once opened to serious meditation becomes troubling. The idea that man is very much like a herd animal is interesting. Many people in my own time seem many similar to...
Words: 942 - Pages: 4
...Assignment: Letter to a European Philosopher PHI/105 Dear Soren Kierkegaard, I have read your profile and philosophical views on several subjects in the Moore-Bruder, (2008) AXIA Reading Material Handbook. I have two arguments that I would like to present to you on your philosophical views and choices you make to please a God that is not proven to exist. First I would like to talk about the agony of choices you made between your God and the woman you were going to marry named Regine Olsen. The choice of committing yourself to God affected you profoundly, by denying yourself the true love you longed for. You cannot touch, smell, or see this God you believe in. It sounds like to me you cheated yourself out of the one thing you truly desired. My question is why your God would want to deny you of the happiness you deserve no matter what your past childhood was like. I have to argue with your view that God has to be first place in your life. I feel you should never put someone else before your own, it only cost you emotions which is something you have had to deal with by making the choices you have to please this God that is not proven to exist Mr. Kierkegaard. My second argument has to do with your view on “The Sickness-Unto-Death”. I disagree with the statement ‘His eventual conclusion was that nothing earthy can save a person from despair. Only a subjectivism commitment to the infinite and to God, not based on abstract intellectualizing or theoretical reasoning, can grant...
Words: 459 - Pages: 2
...June 1, 2009 Respected Sir, I am fervent follower of your philosophies and particularly find the doctrine of “Existentialism” which lays the precise conceptual reflection of an existential disposition that initiates with a sense of delusion and disarray in the face of an evidently non-meaningful or illogical world. Your philosophies have been accepted by sundry people all over the globe and endured the chases of altering times. Withal, with due deference, I would like to allude that I happen to disaccord with your views on the verity of miracles, which you deem as absolute paradox. I do not intend to debate on the topic, but I believe that absolute paradox is similar to that miracle which, as per to Hume, permits a human being to have faith in Christianity against the doctrines of his apprehension. I absorb such a decision on the grounds that you do not conceive Christianity as a philosophy with a verity and, moreover, you consider that all historical upshots (like miracles) are dubious. On one hand, you believe in the Humean concept of miracles probably instituting the verity of Christianity that is not applicable. On the other hand, you signify the absolute paradox as the consideration of faith in a manner that it gets close to Hume's concept of a personal miracle which results in the corruption of the doctrines of the believer's apprehension. I believe, a miracle is a detectable pause of the laws of creation, such that can be explicated by divine intercession...
Words: 774 - Pages: 4
...Letter to a European Philosopher 1 Letter to a European Philosopher Rose Fromm Axia College, University of Phoenix PHI/105 Letter to a European Philosopher 2 Letter to a European Philosopher To: Soren Kierkegaard Dear Soren Kierkegaard, I had sent this letter to you so that I may be able to express the way I feel about your work. I really would like you to know that I am really fond of your work and understand every effort that you have put into the science of philosophy. Recently I had been studying and learning so much about your work and was very intrigued in what I have read about you. I have read that you are a high believer in God. You have written that you believed in god and that dread and despair was the central problems of your life, and the only way of escaping was to make a commitment of faith to god and the infinite (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 168). I do not agree on what you have written because I think that having dread and despair is not the reason for not having any faith in God. I believe that loving him is very important as well as having so much faith in his love. The trust that I feel in God is very valuable to me especially when it comes down to having so many things happening in my life, but for me too have God as my only friend and comforter would make feel isolated, which this could bring me sorrow and misery. You were engaged to be married to Ms. Regine Olsen and had walked away from her because you had replied...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...The Role of God and Church in the Twelfth Century Abelard and Heloise place themselves in many societal positions throughout the coverage of the Historia Calamiatum. The Historia Calamiatum was written much after some of the events described in the letter; however, Abelard describes the event and the states his observations and the lessons he has learned from the events over the years. This gives a unique view on what transpired as well as what Abelard believes the specific event means. The letter tracks Abelard and Heloise from before their involvement as rather typical for that time – Abelard a philosopher, Heloise a student and virgin – as social extremes by having a premarital affair with an attempt to reconcile it by getting married, as social outcasts as their affair is found out, and finally as monks. Through each of these roles, we can see how Abelard views God being in and affecting his and Heloise’s life as well as how...
Words: 838 - Pages: 4
...Ed Terwilliger T Th 1215- 130 HIS 112 Abelard Paper Peter Abelard was a renowned philosopher and a truly remarkable intellectual for his time. Students and teachers alike at Universities and schools in France marveled Abelard’s teachings and logistic theories. In his autobiography Historia Calamitatum or The Story of My Misfortunes, Abelard shows that throughout his life, the study of Dialectics and logistical reasoning, play a great role in comprehending the interactions and events of our surroundings. In his youth, Peter Abelard; being the first-born son of three, was educated in the study of letters. His Father had been a soldier whom earlier in his life was graced with the study of letters, and saw to it that each one of his sons were taught in this study prior to them being educated as a soldier. “And so it came about that long afterwards his love thereof was so strong that he saw to it that each son of his should be taught in letters even earlier than in the management of arms.” (Bellows 1) Unlike his other siblings, Abelard was taught extensively in letters because of his first-born status. Interestingly enough, Peter Abelard found the study of philosophy to be so crucial to the advancement of society and the winning of battles in ones life; he even refers to his intellectual skills as “weapons”. Unlike his father, Abelard preferred winning battles in the form of debates and intellectual wars, which he states “…I exchanged all other weapons for these...
Words: 578 - Pages: 3
...**Discuss how a famous philosopher (of your choosing) influenced the way American's political system was formed and how it still works today** John Locke’s Influence on American Democracy John Locke (1632–1704) was a British philosopher, Oxford academic, and political activist. Locke is referred to by many American political philosophers as one of the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. His ideologies and beliefs in regards to politics, religion, and the relationship between a country’s citizens and its government are heavily referenced within some of the United States’ most important documents. Locke’s association with Anthony Ashley Cooper led him to become a successful government official, an economic and political writer, an opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose cause ultimately prevailed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (Woolhouse, 2007). John Locke’s many writings and speeches on the importance of the freedom of man from a totalitarian government has influenced American politics dating back to the early days of the Continental Congress and the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence. Perhaps the most central concept in Locke's political philosophy that influenced American political thought is his theory of natural law and natural rights. Among Locke's political works, he is most famous for the Two Treatise of Government in which he argues that sovereignty resides in the people and explains that...
Words: 1084 - Pages: 5
...------------------------------------------------- Course Syllabus PHI 105 Introduction to Philosophy Course Start Date: 08/15/2011 Course End Date: 10/16/2011 Please print a copy of this syllabus for handy reference. Whenever there is a question about what assignments are due or when they are due, please remember this syllabus is considered the ruling document. Copyright Copyright ©2010 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. University of Phoenix© is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft©, Windows©, and Windows NT© are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix© editorial standards and practices. Facilitator Information Larry Waggle, Ph. D. larrywaggle@email.phoenix.edu (University of Phoenix) Unclelahr@live.com (Alternate) 480-330-0953 (MST) Facilitator Availability I am available from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Arizona Time on most days, but I attempt to reserve Sunday for my family. On Saturdays, I tend to be online in the morning only. If these times are not...
Words: 6678 - Pages: 27
...A scientist was hit upon the head with an apple and had a stroke of genius; he proved that the force that pulls objects to earth is the same as the force that holds the planets in orbit. This scientist's name was Isaac Newton (background essay). During the late 17th and 18th century in Europe, well-educated thinkers met in English drawing rooms and French salons to discuss political, economic, religious, and social questions; these people are called philosophers. Philosophers are particularly hopeful that they might discover new ways to understand and improve their society; many of which strived to achieve the title of the Isaac Newton of the social sciences. John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft all believed that there...
Words: 1003 - Pages: 5
...Hello, this might sound strange and out of the ordinary, but I am writing this letter to my younger self. I understand you are 14 and it’s hard to explain who I am, but to clarify who I really am… I am you. Yes, this sounds crazy, but I am you from the future. I am writing this letter to my younger self to inform you and teach you some information that can help you in the future about philosophy. Well let’s get started to begin with you must know two philosophers named Iris Marion Young and Marilyn Frye who view the word oppression differently. I am sure you might not know what the word oppression even means, but oppression is when people reduce the potential for other people to be fully human. In other words, oppression is removing someone’s power for relating to their sex, skin color, or heritage....
Words: 652 - Pages: 3
...Letter to a Philosopher Elbert Avery PHI/105 Nov, 06, 2013 Letter to a Philosopher I am writing this letter to John Dewey regarding his theory of pragmatism. I am choosing this theory because it interests me in the scientific aspect of your thinking. I know that you chose to challenge logicians to answer the question of truth. This is a hard thing to sort out and make real and true. Going up against some of the times most logical thinkers and challenging them to come up with true answers was one of your strong points. I know that you were not totally opposed to modern logic as you have stated “logic based upon the idea that qualitative objects are existential in the fullest sense. To retain logical principles based on this conception along with the acceptance of theories of existence and knowledge based on an opposite conception is not, to say the least, conductive to clearness – a consideration that has a good deal to do with existing dualism between traditional and the newer relational logics.”(Qualitative Thought 1930) This statement to me means that you had maybe exhausted the traditional way of thinking that you had imagined. I believe that you had to reach for more answers and different ways to get those answers. Truth is a hard thing to come by and it is not easily obtained. I know that you were a philosopher of science and that you used this to try and understand the world. From you research you did not stretch the truth but rather examined all of the parts that...
Words: 732 - Pages: 3
...Enlightenment Philosophers One of the earlier Enlightenment philosophers is Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). Hobbes was an English philosopher, scientist, and historian. One of Hobbes's most important writings is “The Leviathan”. It argues the necessity of absolute sovereignty during unstable wartimes, and doubles as an autobiography. Thomas Hobbes believed that people were “cruel, greedy, and selfish”. Hobbes is quoted with “Life without laws would be nasty, brutal, and short”. John Locke lived 1632 to 1704 in New England. Locke lived as a graduate of University of Oxford Westminster School. His education led to studies in medicine, political philosophy,epistemology, and education. Many modern philosophers believe he laid down the basics...
Words: 340 - Pages: 2
...Theatre, it is the most important social event on the polis, and it is central to the aristocrats. Symposia are usually held in the Andron or the men’s room, which is the largest, best-decorated room in the aristocratic house. Symposia are held for specific occasions or festivals, and it is a way that an aristocrat shows off his wealth. The invited people and the space being provided in the symposia are very limited, therefore, these symposia gathering represents their social status. Foods and wine are served and entertainment is provided. On the other hand, a social marginal is anybody who does not belong to the aristocratic household. Examples of social marginal’s are, peasants (knemon), Micyllus, Brigands, beggars, the insane, cynic philosophers, hetairai. “The Symposium of the Lapiths” is a story of Philo and Lycinus, two men who talk about a recent symposium, held by Aristaenetus. Aristaenetus in this story has a role of kyrios, he wants to marry his daughter, Cleanthis, to Chaereas,...
Words: 550 - Pages: 3
