The Natural Nature Of Life

What is nature? The answer to that question is unique not only on a cultural basis but also unique to every person. When many people are confronted with different viewpoints or opinions on a particular subject, they often have the desire to conform that person’s opinions to their own. This creates a binary way of thinking. You either agree or disagree. This binary really is not effective, however, when discussing the topic of what is nature or what is natural because it is not a question that has a clear answer. We all have different connotations attached to the word nature. None of these connotations are wrong. They are just different. They are a product of our religion, our biology, and the experiences of our life. There have been many provocative thoughts expressed about what is natural that have either directly or indirectly defined nature to us. Whether it is an ancient story passed down through oral tradition throughout generations or modern writing, we have always looked to define nature not just for ourselves but for others around us. And this has caused only gridlock and confrontation.

"Birds don 't live alone, I told myself. They live in flocks. Like people. People are always in a group. Like that little wooden band. And whenever there 's a group, there 's fighting. If the people in the group get along, maybe they make good music instead of arguing....That 's how life is. I stared at that marching band. Then I got in the car and drove home” (Whirligig 62). This quote from Paul Fleischman’s Whirligig shows the reader his artful way of connecting nature to the human element; a way for those observing nature to learn from it. Throughout various pieces of Fleischman 's work, an insightful use of nature is used to help

Cherish that moment and keep it in the back of your mind forever, because it's the feeling of nearing death while still being alive. It's the only feeling in the world that counts. And you can repeat it for thousand times before you meet your real demise.

Every person would like to think that they have free will as if we did not than our existence would be pointless. Expanding on the idea of free will is the core of a naturalist argument against that of an intelligent creator in a traditional Abrahamic sense that is omniscient. Taliaferro outlines this situation aptly stating that “If God knows what you will do tomorrow, you cannot do otherwise. But if the future is fixed how can you be free?” to outline the structure of the naturalist’s point of view (Taliaferro, 34). For instance, if a God who was omniscient knew you were going to eat at the Reitz tomorrow is it really your choice to eat at the Reitz if this God knew you would eat there, and not at Chick-fil-a?” The objection seems to be

I’ve always wondered what death feels like, finally coming to the point in your life where everything stops. Is it just a sudden silence? What does death taste like, what does it look like? People say that you can have a near-death experience, but I sure as hell haven’t ever had one. None of that “Life flashes before your eyes” B.S. I mean sure, I’ve had a few bumps and bruises, and a couple times I’ve come home anything but sober. I’ve never really come close to dying or death in general, well not until that day in the woods.

In society today there are two worldviews that tend to be complete opposites, the ideas of scientific naturalism against Christianity. These worldviews are incredibly opposite, but there may be areas that the two opposing sides could meet on. Both views have valid ideas to contribute to the argument. We strengthen our beliefs through ideological conflict with others. Both view-points are strengthened when compared to each other rather than presented separately with no alternative view to oppose it.

Naturalism is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (1990) as ‘a more deliberate kind of realism in novels, stories, and plays, usually involving a view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment’ (Baldick, p.221). The dictionary states that naturalistic drama in particular ‘usually has a broader application, denoting a very detailed illusion of real life on the stage, especially in speech, costume, and sets’ (Baldick, p.221). On the other hand, melodrama is defined as ‘a popular form of sensational drama that flourished in the 19th-century theatre […] the modern sense of melodrama derives: an emotionally exaggerated conflict of pure maidenhood and scheming villainy in a plot full of suspense’ (Baldick, p.201). Melodrama came before naturalistic drama, in the early nineteenth-century, but was taken over in popularity in the late nineteenth/ early twentieth-century by realism and naturalistic drama.

The natural state of man has been a reoccurring theme when reviewing the history of political philosophy and theory. This study has helped societies develop laws and common goals. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) theory is still strikingly relevant in today’s law and order. His main concern was how people lived: how to avoid war since people lived in defensive fear. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) challenged Hobbes’s philosophy. He says, “The passage from the state of nature to the civil state produces a very remarkable change in man, by substituting justice for instinct in his conduct.” In other words, he thought that men were good by nature and when exposed to society they are corrupted. Although both philosophers study the course of society, they have very divergent views. This paper will examine both theories of the social contract. Thus, I will later conclude why Hobbes has a more feasible hypothesis.

On the Nature of Things, known also by its original Latin title De Rerum Natura, is a 1st century B.C. poem written by the Roman poet and philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus. The poem was written with the purpose of explaining the philosophy of the ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus, to the common Roman audience of the time. Lucretius was born c. 99 B.C. and died around 55 B.C. Lucretius was a follower of Epicureanism. This philosophy sought to refute myth and legends that gods were responsible for the workings and nature of the world. In Lucretius’s On the Nature of Things, he attempts to explain this philosophy to a common audience by stating that the gods do not interfere in the world and that everything that occurs in nature can be

Has the idea of galaxies lurking millions of light years away undiscovered, ever bother you?How about the fact that fish endlessly swim in the ocean until the day they no longer can swim ?Why birds soar endlessly in the skies for miles, never questioning the reason for their trip. Every piece of matter has an origin, and has a place. Everyday, events unfold, things change, and our atmosphere moves- on the ultimate basis of the process that is life. Man is aware of his presence on earth. But very little does man question his presence. What is our purpose on the grand stage that is life? In order to truly live and to reach the state of unconditional happiness, one mustn’t experience their lives day by day without questioning their

What is nature? The answer to that question is different on not only a cultural basis but also on a person-to-person basis. When many people are confronted with people of different viewpoints or opinions on a particular subject they often have the desire to conform that person’s options to their own. This creates a binary way of thinking. You either agree or disagree. This binary really is not affective however especially when discussing the topic of what is nature or what is natural. We all have different connotations attached to the word nature.

Many different natural and man-made things can be interpreted as aesthetically sublime. Things that are sublime are all around, and they attract much attention from the public. The sublime is an aesthetic quality that portrays the strong emotions of awe that people have when they see powerful forces. Along with tourist attractions such as the Grand Canyon being sublime, most pieces of art, especially paintings, are sublime. While some artists paint natural, sublime scenes resembling mountains, volcanoes, and waterfalls, the artists Erich Mercker, Hans Müller, and Fritz Gärtner demonstrate the sublime by painting industrial scenes that are immense in size and contain bright, orange molten metal. Those scenes are sublime because they evoke emotions of power and fear from viewers.

If death is a natural part of the life cycle, how do we dignify the unexpected dying and death of a middle-aged person when the focus is on treating and keeping him or her alive? When is it time to stop and honor the natural cycle of life? Who gets to decide?

Life is a crazy journey filled with excitement, horror, and love. This only defines life in general, how are we supposed to live it? Partying may be one way for most college kids, while travelling is another way for a business man. So what exactly is "living"? Zadie Smith author of “Speaking in Tongues” says she travels and always has had to adapt to her surroundings. Like in her college years where she had to change her tongue to fit in, that’s her form of adapting, or living. While Jeanette Winterson author of “The World and Other Places” notes that the narrator of her text lives by flying and getting away from everyone. How could he enjoy himself, by only being alone without friends. Doing things alone

1. There are two books that give me my divine stance: the one God wrote himself (scripture) and the alternative for those who don’t seek the bible (nature). Those who have not seen his teachings firsthand know of him through his scripture.