The Gift: Lies in Nature’s Lessons

At some point in time we have all wondered what it means to human, and what we are supposed to do with our lives. Throughout the centuries, there have been gradual changes in what it means to be human. Through Pico della Mirandola we will how man became the measure and took the place of God, through Charles Darwin we will see how nature and science began to take the place of man, and through the art of Friedrich we can visually see all of these changes.

Man has left nature and has created an artificial world of his own. This fact has been the most shattering phenomenon which has disrupted man from God and all that is implied in God: meaning, significance, majesty, love, prayer, meditation, and all that is valuable. The irony is, man has never been so rich as he is today. Both things have happened together: the inner, spiritual being has become poorer while the outer being has become richer. We have more money than any other society before, we have in every way more power than any other society ever had before, and still no society has ever felt such meaninglessness.

The imagery of the poem, portraying the class as a school of fish, is constructed by the poetic devices of metaphors, similes, and metonymy. Water is used as a metaphor for the teacher's words; the reference to "water [beginning] to fill the room" connects to the later reference to the teacher who "trie[s] to drown [the students] with [his] words" (lines 6 and 13). Fish are used as a metaphor to describe both the teacher and his students; "together [they] swam around the room" (line 18). Another example of this is when the teacher's hands are compared to fins in lines 28 and 29. Finally, the classroom is metaphorically compared to an aquarium; the "hole in the door" (line 22) causes everyone to "leak out" (line 23). The first simile of the poem occurs in line 4 when the students are "as orderly as frozen fish." This image is supported by later similes such as "like gills" (line 16) and "like thirty tails whacking words" (line 19). The first simile describes the students who are eager to take in the "water" or words of the teacher. The second simile refers to the group interaction between the teacher and the students.

Why do people act a certain way? Some people are aggressive and others aren’t. Nature and nurture play a role in this. Is it because of the genes passed down from their parents or is it because of the environment where they live in? The reason I picked this topic is because in some areas of my life and other people’s lives, environmental aspects plays a role which affects their behavior and actions, but genes play a role too. I am curious about the topic and why scientists have not found an answer to whether it is nature or nurture. How can a topic have evidence explaining why it is both environmentally and genes. Why isn’t there one answer? Do the aspects intelligence, aggressive behaviors and Mental disorders contribute to the environment where people live in and their genes pasted down?

Respecting and considering all nature around human beings is very crucial in society because nature is of great help to community settings. As one nation, doing that requires staying aware of everything that may matter to keep nature safe and healthy but also, going hand in hand with that is humanity's health and safety. Believing in this has been going on for generations and needs to stay going down to new coming generations just the same if not more. In contrary, there still seems to be people arguing the fact that we're fine and do not need to worry too much about keeping up with nature and keeping it safe. Joseph Bruchac goes into deeper meaning in their story, “The Sky Tree,” and lets us know humanity's viewpoint on nature as well as Mark Twain in the story, “The Lowest Animal.” He also shows what may be the big picture with the interactions between humanity and nature. Both of these authors have different ways of showing this but comparing and contrasting them show the overall picture between the both on about the respect humanity should have for nature and the balance they truly shall have.

“To wondering humankind it offers an immediately available home: all one has to do is accept it, and suddenly everything becomes clear once more, life takes on new meaning, and all mysteries, unanswered questions, anxieties and loneliness vanish. Of course, one pays dearly for this low-rent home: the price is abdication of one’s own reason, conscience, and responsibility, for an essential aspect of this ideology is the

What does it mean to be human? Being human is when you live and learn from things, when you can make mistakes and instead of feline like you should give up, you learn from your silly, puny mistake. Being human has a lot more factors that contribute as well like being part of a culture, searching for beauty, and connecting through things that make you feel like you are part of a group or belong. Throughout this essay I will be discussing many attributions that go with being human as well as giving some supporting factors.

Human nature can be explained to be certain characteristics and behavioral traits that everyone as humans, no matter were we come from or what we believe in or do not believe in, share or have in common. Throughout the years human nature has been a topic that various philosophers have tried to figure out or understand, but it is something they, even after multiple attempts and immensely thought out processes and experiments, have lacked the tools and knowledge necessary to fully comprehend and provide reasonable perceptions and reasoning for it. “ According to a legend of ancient Greek philosophy, the students at Plato’s Academy tried to unassailably define the phrase ‘ human being’ ( Austin 71).” Even though humans have failed to

The self is dwarfed by the imposition of an alter-reality—it is the constant self-reflective cogito imposed on us by the Other that alienates us from thetic self-consciousness. Imprisoned in the Other’s gaze, I am the product of not only my own experiences, but also of my fellow man’s, each of us responsible for all humanity—we are “half victim and half accomplice, like everybody else” (Sartre DH 184).

humans are created in the image of God and share His likeness, is valued over the lives of

In our quest for wisdom, the question of human nature is still up to debate. Many philosophers ranging from Socrates to Buddha has questioned the nature of human life and of our existence. But these philosophers do not share the same beliefs about our nature. Their beliefs are as different as their place of origin. Socrates’ own philosophy may not be the same as an eastern philosopher such as the Buddha. In western philosophy there is often a focus on the individual in the case of human nature. In eastern philosophy there are various interpretations of the idea of human nature and our existence.

The poem is written in either four, five, six, or nine lines long stanzas, with interchanging meters of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter (Nicholson, Lecture 1). It seems Coleridge relates the inexplicable nature of the mariner’s experience and his emotional intensity through subtle shifts in the verse. The practically candid ABCB rhyme scheme creates a passionate, melodic feel that reaffirms the poem’s oral storytelling mode as a legend or allegory (Nicholson, Lecture 10). The structure is joined with the recurrent usage of the internal rhymes. In line 69, Coleridge writes, “The ice did split with a thunder-fit” (p. 814). This inner rhyme places emphasis, horror, and intensity. In addition, Coleridge employs various poetic devices such as repetition, alliteration, and onomatopoeia to add dramatic effects (Nicholson, Lecture 10). For example, in line 426, Coleridge repeats himself by writing, “Fly, brother fly! More high, more high!” (p. 823). Furthermore, Coleridge uses parallelism throughout the poem, such as in the lines 93-94 and 99-100 (Nicholson, Lecture 3). Coleridge writes, “For all averred, I had killed the bird that made the breeze blow […] Then all averred, I had killed the bird that brought the fog and mist” (p. 815). The use of

Albert Einstein once said, "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."This quote, by Albert Einstein, is focused on the idea of increasing the amount of compassion people have towards each other, which father Vidal also talked about in his Sunday sermon. In this paper, I analyze the content and delivery of the sermon given in Father Vidal's mass, to fully understand his successful and unsuccessful tactics. The analysis of father Vidal's sermon will include discussing the content, strengths, and weaknesses of his speech.

Defined as the belief that man’s relationship with reality can be understood through observing nature, Transcendentalism first emerged in the first half of the nineteenth century in New England. Not only was it considered as an American intellectual, spiritual, cultural, literary, and philosophical movement, rooted in Immanuel Kant’s transcendental doctrine, but also as an alternative to sensualism and empiricism. Ralph Waldo Emerson can be viewed as the brilliant pioneer of Transcendentalism and his thought-provoking essay “Nature” embodies the true connection between man and nature. Broadly speaking, transcendentalism is the inherit goodness of humans and nature based on the spiritual and mental essence of being without depending on the senses or change by the experience of sensations. “Nature” exemplifies how industrialization has adverse effects on man’s relationship with nature. Emerson demonstrates the unrequited, bountiful love nature gives to man through life and creation, who takes it for granted. Asher Durand Brown’s “Kindred Spirits” conveys the quintessential message: how man communes with nature. Both pieces differ greatly in terms of abstract details, but contain a similar hidden meaning that epitomizes man’s relationship with nature. In the following paragraphs, I am going to show how the two pieces are connected.

Today I received a gift from nature while I was swimming in my backyard pool. At first I believed the buzzing I heard was a giant wasp. As I turned my head slowly, I came face to face with a delicate little humming bird. He flew under my neck and rose up to my nose to hover and stare at me before lighting on my arm for a few seconds. It was pure magic. I called him little darling and asked if there was something he wanted. He flew away, only to return to rest on the pool decking close to my hand. I was intrigued and delighted. Although brief, this encounter brought happiness to my day.