...nihilistic and pessimistic. When taken out of context, a very rich and thought-provoking idea can be completely lost to the emotional hostility provoked in the mind of anyone with staunchly held preconceived notions. “God is dead,” however dark the phrase may sound, is a call to self-reflection. It is a phrase that will, when read with a set of evidences, force the reader to reflect on the milestones that humanity has achieved, both socially and physically, in the small and largely unfettered existence which humanity has possessed. When pondered within context, it is an idea that will force any reader to realize that, since the beginning, mankind has been a creative and impeccably persevering lot that has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, largely due to an exceptional ability to adapt and change prevailing attitudes based on what is needed for survival....
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...film, The Matrix, ingeniously created by the Wachowski brothers, brings the world’s most celebrated, philosophical theories to light as they attempt to postulate a binding remedy. The first of these theories dates past 380 BC, when Plato crafted his allegorical masterpiece, “The Cave,” which denotes a metaphor contrasting the manner in which man perceives reality. The second involves French philosopher Rene Descartes and his recognized dissertation, “Meditation,” which also proposes a distinctive perspective on the issue. A comprehensive study of the philosophical concepts of “The Cave” and “Meditations” and their manner of manifestation in The Matrix allows one to broaden and enhance his understanding of reality. First of all, one can find several analogous elements when comparing the three works. Each of these revolves around the concept that the illusions man accepts as truth drastically differ from reality. This reality is then unveiled in distinct, but related journeys, which involve a source of deception and a series of logical, enlightening experiences and steps. These steps include a progressive doubt, a means of escape to find truth, a common agony in facing truth, and a growing acceptance of reality and the altered life it comes with. In The Matrix, an average computer programmer, Neo, is led to a company of insurgents led by the valiant Morpheus. The mysterious leader offers him a radical choice—swallow the red pill to learn the truth about the Matrix or swallow a...
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...Appearance vs. Reality In the novel Night (1956), Elie Wiesel illustrates the horror that he faces through the Holocaust. Wiesel’s drive to get out of the concentration camp with his father alive causes him to be directed through all of these challenges. When it seems that everything is lost time after time again, he starts to lose himself and his humanity. Wiesel’s detailed descriptions of the Jews denying their inevitable truth that had shown right in front of them is also later shown that not only did the Jewish community, not face their own reality, however Elie Wiesel finds it hard to face his reality through this tough time. The play Oedipus Rex (420) by (Sophocles) also demonstrates the tragedy of how sensitive our mentality can...
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...to as truth. As Pieper states, “things are true because of their essential reality of being. Regardless of whether one is religious, or believes in God, or has any proclivity towards matters of belief, a person can intellectually deduce and know the following axiom alluded to above: “a thing cannot have being without equally having truth.” Because the aforementioned axiom is knowable by the human mind, Pieper states, “every being, as being, stands in relation to a knowing mind.” Thus, humans are able to know beings, to know things, of both an animate as well as inanimate nature. This point is critical, as it implies there is a connection between the human mind and things through an intelligible process. On the surface, the concept of truth affirms that there is something special present in the existence of a given thing. However, upon further review, this truth is in fact indicative of God, the One who has created and creates all things. The privilege of being the creator of some object is that the creator will know that object far better than an object not created by them. As an example, an auto mechanic will know the car he built far better than the car he did not build. In a similar vein, Pieper states, (an) “existing work of art is ‘known’ by the artist…Yet he knows it more intensely than he could ever know and understand, say, a tree or any other reality not created by him.” Thus, as the ultimate Creator, or ultimate artist, God knows all beings, and knows the truth found...
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...In the film The Matrix, the question being asked is whether or not anything in this world that we experience every day, from the trees that are growing outside, to the people we encounter on a daily basis, truly exists. In The Matrix film, this question is answered with a resounding “No,” that nothing is real and that the true nature around us is a harsh and cruel reality, one where the entirety of the Earth’s population is enslaved to a race of “machines.” The main character, Neo, is at first scared about everything he is now experiencing, questioning whether or not if he’s actually dreaming. However, he does come to terms with the fact that he is in fact living in the real world, and his new mission in life is to save as many people as possible from the lies of the machines. The Wachowski siblings, the two people who created the trilogy weren’t the first people to experiment with the concept of a “real” world outside of our “fake” reality. Philosophers dating back to the time of Rene Descartes, and even further back to the age of Plato, have toyed and pondered with this concept. Even though their concepts are all generally the same, the way they perceive it is very different. For example, the Greek philosopher Plato had this concept of a man who was trapped in a cavern his entire life and was physically restrained with tethers, so that he could not move. The only thing available to him was a fire that would cast shadows on the walls and he would only know these shadows for...
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...Voluminous ancient Greek cults, created gods, in some way based on some truth, but it was twisted to fit what they see as best for them. Cautiously, I will say that Christianity is one of those religions, Paul calls the work of Christ the mystery now revealed. On the other hand, we, as Christians, know that the message of Christ is the truth. Therefore, it goes without much thought that it is not the religion to focus on—it is the truth. Jehovah's Witnesses is the religious cult that I will discuss (without causing too much controversy). In essence, JW is similar to many ancient Greek cults, they have created a God that is based off of some truth, but twist it to fit what they see as best for them. According to Wikipedia, the “Jehovah’s Witness...
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...Intellectual Education It has been emphasized in earlier chapters that education is not only an individual process, but a social process as well. The individual is born into the family and through the family, becomes a member of society. Society is an aggregate of many individuals, institutions, and functions, diversified in themselves, yet capable of a high degree of unification and integration for the social good. Man must live in society, conform to the customs of his group, and make the necessary adjustments to conventional standards, laws, and social forces. The experiences that the individual must undergo, as an interacting and cooperating member of society, are intimately related to the achievement of his final destiny. To equip the individual to meet these experiences and to be successful therein, various specific types of education are essential. Each of these types requires, fundamentally, the acquisition of specific knowledge, the formation of socially desirable habits and skills, the development of wholesome attitudes and appreciations, and the assimilation of the essential elements of the social heritage. For this assimilation to be effective, the social forces which influence the individual’s morality, personality, and character must be brought under proper control. This can be accomplished only when all agencies and institutions constituting society are governed completely and administered strictly according to the unchanging principles of the moral law. Those...
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...at the light?” What does the prisoner see when he is returns to the cave? What does he then feel about reality? What happens when a prisoner is released from the den and “compelled to look straight at the light?” What does the prisoner see when he returns to the cave? What does he then feel about reality? When the prisoner leaves the cave and looks straight into the light, he is left blind by the extreme brightness of it. However, after a while, he gets accustomed to the light, and he realizes that the world of shadows in which he had lived his whole life was a mere imitation of reality. Consequently, when he returned to the cave, he has not used to the darkness anymore and his peers...
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...Al-Attas, the worldview of Islam is not based upon philosophical speculation formulated mainly from observation of the data sensible experience, of what is visible to the eye nor it is restricted to the world of sensible experience, the world of created things. Islam does not concede to the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane. He says that the worldview of Islam encompasses both al-dunya and al-akhirah, in which the dunya-aspect must be related in profound and inseparable way to the akhirah-aspect, in which the akhirah-aspect has the ultimate and final significance. The dunya-aspect is seen as preparation for the akhirah-aspect without thereby implying any attitude of neglect or being unmindful of the dunya-aspect. What is meant by 'worldview' according to the perspective of Islam, is then the vision of reality and truth that appears before the mind's eye revealing what existence is all about; for it is the world of experience in its totality that Islam is projecting. According to Prof. Choudhury, he says about Islamic worldview that, as reality and system which Islamic design of reality relating it. He argues that, “The Islamic Worldciew is thereby, the comprehensive and universalizing, overarching and complementing design of reality that is premised on the epistemology of Divine...
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...measuring up to our evolution or creation? Revelation responds to these questions by taking the position that everything in the universe is part of a meticulous plan being executed by the First Cause - God - who is the Creator of all, each with sustenance and purpose (11:6). He has created humankind[2] not in vain but to serve as His agents / trustees / viceroys on the earth (6:165; 35:39; 57:7). In this capacity, they are required to manage the resources of the earth such that all benefit equitably[3] and the original balance in creation is maintained (55:7-9). To this end, they are bound by a covenant with God (7:172; 20:115) and every action that they undertake with the intention of fulfilling that covenant constitutes an act of worship (51:56-7). Thus the temporal and spiritual are inextricably linked from an Islamic perspective. There are several other unique features of this God-human relationship. First, the Principal here is the One, Incomparable, Sovereign, Eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Active God Whose Will reigns supreme in the universe. It is by His Will that human beings have limited free will and agency to operate the trust. In this larger context, humankind are in reality mere slaves of God dependant on His grace for every moment of their freedom and existence (34:9;...
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...America by a man named L. Ron Hubbard. Although it is an actual religion, many people view Scientology as a trend. However, just like any other religion, Scientology has its own churches, beliefs, practices, and scripture. The word Scientology was created by Hubbard that derived from the Latin word Scio which meant “Knowing in the fullest meaning of the word” (Melton). The actual definition of Scientology is "the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, universes, and other life" (Melton). Hubbard began his journey while studying the human mind which led him to write many of his publications. Slowly, he began to further his studies by teaching classes which taught people how to become “auditors” which would allow them to teach these beliefs to others. His teachings used an array of methods that focused on the study of the mind and the problems that many people faced. Hubbard then researched other elements to the brain which he then called “thetan”. Thetan was the observer but to other religions it seemed as though hewas the soul of a person. Within his studies, he realized that thetan had other lives before this one which is a form of reincarnation (Melton). After Hubbard discovered many aspects of the mind along with creating many publications, he then dabbled in more work to further educate himself on the matter. He collaborated with Volney Mathison, an...
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...review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. For information write: Sheriar Foundation, 3005 Highway 17 North ByPass, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29577, U.S.A. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: Meher Baba, 1894-1969. Discourses / Meher Baba. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-880619-08-3 : $25.00. - ISBN 1-880619-09-1 (pbk.): $15.00. 1. Spiritual life. I. Title. BP610.M43127 1995 299'.93-dc20 94-36972 CIP ISBN 1^880619-08-3 (previously ISBN 0-913078-573) ISBN 1-880619-09-1 (pbk.) (previously ISBN 0913078-584) ________________________________________________ v Contents FOREWORD ……………………………………………………. INTRODUCTION TO THE SEVENTH EDITION ………………......... THE SEVEN REALITIES …………………………………………. THE NEW HUMANITY ………………………………………….. SELFISHNESS ………………………………………………….. GOD AND THE INDIVIDUAL ……………………………………. THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF CREATION ………………….. THE FORMATION AND FUNCTION OF SANSKARAS ……………… THE REMOVAL OF SANSKARAS viii xiii 1 3 10 16 23 32 Part I The Cessation, the Wearing Out, and the Unwinding of Sanskaras ……………………………………………….. Part II...
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...Character formation:as an object of education Education is one of the most important issues for the Governments worldwide. For everybody knows that a way to progress for any nation is through the path of education. Governments as well as the NGO"s are desperate to raise their literacy rates.And it should be for education is one of the very basic needs and rights of a man. What is education? Is it a way of getting knowledge about everything,is it a mechanism to prepare forces of doctors, engineers or any othertechnicians.Education is inf act a life long process.It include not only the knowledge of the things surrounding,of hidden truths bu it is also a process which differentiate man from animal life.From the jungles and caves man has progressed to this advance and modern world.Is it what we all mean with education.The answer given by any ordinary man would be a simple 'NO'. For the scope of education is not just linked with the scientific discoveries or inventions,no doubt these are the very important aspect, but education on the other hand is very much linked with the progress of the moral world of man.It deals with the advancement of ideas which has brought tremendous changes in the moral,social,political in short in all fields.It is related with the thoughs and values as well as the behaviour of the educated person which he reflects in his daily routine life. Character formation as being the object of education is indeed a very deep and complex issue.It deals with individual...
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...NATURALISM INTRODUCTION Naturalism is considered as the oldest philosophy in the western world. Naturalism is a philosophical position adopted by the naturalists, whose approach to philosophy is purely from scientific point of view. Naturalists believe that nature alone represents the entire reality and is there beyond or behind other than nature. For naturalists, nature is everything and nothing exists superior than nature. So they separate nature from God and allot no space for supernaturalism and spiritualism. They also believe that all our activities are initiated by our instincts. Naturalism stresses the need to return to nature from artificiality. It is also concerned with natural self and believes that reality and nature are identical and beyond nature there is no reality .With the help of physical and chemical laws, naturalism explains the universe, the physical world, life and mind. This nature is governed by its own laws and man is regarded as the child of nature. It considers matter as superior to spirit and gives importance to scientific methods of observation and verification. MEANING OF NATURALISM The term naturalism, by its ordinary meaning, means ism laying emphasis nature in every field of education. Naturalism is a system which follows exclusion of whatever is spiritual, or indeed whatever is transcendental of experience from our philosophy of nature and man. Naturalism is a doctrine that separates nature from god, subordinates sprit to matter and setup...
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...the viewers are seem to understand the truth in documentary images compared to fictional images. This is so because, the documentary truth is better understood as the truth found in the manner in which people arrange their perceptions mentally. Further adding to the theory in a documentary film causes people to be more aware of how messages in photography are read and less about the reality that the film speaks about. This is definitely the reason why documentaries have been used in the modern society to appeal to economies, so that they support humanitarian aid and even invoke fear in people using such a political strategy. Documentary photography has played such a key role in ensuring media around the world reports about real situations in different parts of the globe. It has been enhanced by the use of mobile phones as people tend to record videos of real issues, upload them to a bigger platform so that more people can access them, for instance through YouTube, thus entering and transforming imagination of individuals (Ellis, 1989). Regardless of the fact that documentaries are just a strategy that is used in photography and filmography to ensure that the audience and the target viewers have been appealed to, they should also be appreciated for the excellent work they do in making photography and filmography a comprehensive text that can be decoded. Each story focusses on being able to tell the truth. Perception seeks to define the truth as being the way in which the world around...
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