A Penguin with a Book

The idea that humans are in control and have power over their lives is one of the biggest misconceptions in today’s society. John Locke deals with the falsity of this belief in The Second Treatise of Government . He does so by relating human existence to two states: the state of nature and the state of war. Locke shows that, in relation to human nature, humans do not hold power over their lives and, therefore, cannot pass it to another, except in a state of war. To better understand why humans cannot transfer power of their lives, understanding Locke’s definitions of the state of nature and the state of war are important, especially how they connect. The state of nature is the rules by which humans were governed before society formed, and they can also be called natural laws. It is further described as “a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the laws of nature” (2). Simply put, human righ...

When did it become common to use the word like multiple times in a sentence? Why is it done? Is it because we do not want to say exactly what we mean in case we are wrong, and, therefore, would rather use “like” instead of sounding correct, or is it simply a filler word? I f it is the latter, we should know what we will say before we speak instead of filling time with useless chatter. While recognizing our wretchedness is good because it means acknowledging our nature, dwelling on it too much is not beneficial because it could lead to feeling miserable, and no one needs to feel miserable on top of our present state. Our present world has enough misery. Seeing that humanity is fallen is not hard. For instance, there are the poor drivers or people who get involved in argument after argument. When I consider all that I see in one day, it is tempting to say “I am so done with humanity,” because truth be told, it is draining trying to live right and follow the rules when everywhere...

Voltaire writes in Candide about the travels and experiences of a former servant named Candide and how his view of the world changes on his journey. One of Candide’s closest companions is Pangloss, a philosopher, and he believes all that happens in life is for the best. On conversing with a Familiar of the Inquisition, Pangloss brings up the point that the fall of man was necessary and good for this world. The fall of man and the curse entering the world is the for the best becomes it helps reveal the nature of God and provides humans with a deeper relationship with Him. Pangloss brings up his philosophy that all is for the best shortly after he and Candide experience an earthquake in Lisbon, and he chalks up the occurrence to his philosophy since he believes the best outcome in life was for it to happen. The Familiar then assumes that the philosopher does “not believe in original sin; for if all is for the best there has been neither Fall nor punishment” (20). This statement means...

Throughout A Discourse on the Method , Descartes recounts his mission to reason his way to the truth to build a solid foundation for what he believes. Doing so leads him to taking apart areas of study themselves to see what they are truly made of and if they have sound reasoning. In one of these studies he contrasts mathematics and philosophy. Descartes deduces that mathematics has a surer foundation and is more applicable for life than philosophy. Many believe that philosophy is more applicable for life. After all, philosophers are constantly writing about the different virtues, what they are, and the benefits of having them. However, as Descartes points out, none of them actually reveal how to obtain the virtues. So, upon examining philosophy, he realizes that it is simply “splendid and magnificent palaces built on nothing more than mud and sand,” and because it is all talk and provides no application, it is not “more worthy of esteem than anything else on earth” (9). The foundati...

During Folly’s speech in In Praise of Folly , she begins to talk about the different church positions, one of which are priests. She brings up how they work misdeeds into their sermons when stirred up, and how no one understands who they are referring to. Erasmus, through Folly, is pointing out that when people get caught up in trying to catch the culprit, they can fail to understand that it is themself, as well as the error of the priests in committing this act. Erasmus writes that, “But if anyone should anger these wasps, they’ll sufficiently revenge themselves in their public sermons and so point out their enemy by circumlocutions that there’s no one but understands whom ‘tis they mean, unless they understand nothing at all” (50).  Priests are the ones who listen to others confess their sins and then go to God on behalf of them. Their job means they have dirt on dozens of people. If a person does something that makes them angry or slanders one of them, they then have loads of...

The imperfection of humans and the world is quite obvious. The little boy bursts into tears because his mom refused to give him a cookie or someone is addicted to drugs. But is it possible that there is someone that is above all this mess? I can think of him, but it does not have anything to do with his existence, does it? Conceiving of a perfect God does in fact lead to the existence of such. The argument is in the ontological category, which makes sense then that Aquinas is proving God is real through being, as this is what that group deals with. In the objection, Aquinas writes that once one understands what the term “‘God’” entails, the existence is then seen as well “[f]or by this word is signified that thing than which nothing greater can be conceived. But that which exists actually and mentally is greater than that which exists only mentally” (54). In order for nothing greater to be conceived than God because if the word is not understood, the concept of him cannot be created...

Throughout Inferno , Dante continually asks the souls in hell for information regarding who they are and the sin that landed them there. Every time he enters a new ring and sees a new sin being punished, he always promises those there that he will make sure people remember them. If Dante is a good person, why does he keep bribing bad people with fame? He uses their want for something as an incentive to help him receive answers. Dante beseeches the souls to speak despite their pain and the possibility that their sins cause them to feel shame, saying, “So may your name not seal itself away / from human memory in the former world, / But love through many turnings of the sun, / Tell me then who you are, and from what city” (303.103-105). The people in hell have no hope. Dante making the souls an offer and them accepting means they then have something even if they are dead and cannot see the outcomes. Even if we commit a bad action, we have a desire to be remembered, and that is why he i...

The rain fell outside, which seemed to fit part of my current mood. The previous day had left me groaning about how I would not get to attend school due to my enemy called Sickness. To my surprise, a figure swept into the room that was most definitely not my mother, leaving me wondering why she entered. It was a woman dressed in a blazer and a-line skirt, with glasses perched on her nose. She took a look at me and sat down, despite my wishing she would leave so I could finish my current episode of Teen Titans. Somehow though, I knew she was not budging till we talked, so begrudgingly I paused the show and removed my headphones. She let out a sigh before she spoke. “Judging by the expression on your face, you either do not recognize me, or you do and want to pretend like you do not.” I took those few seconds to figure out if I could place her, and slowly it dawned on me. This was Schoolwork. “It took a little bit, but now I can tell who you are,” I responded. Schoolwork gave a...