William Shakespeare 's The Markopoulos

In his paper “The Makropulos case: reflections on the tedium of immortality” Bernard Williams asserts his central claim that when immortality is feasible it is intolerable; further, it is reasonable to regard death as an evil. He argues his position by utilization of The Makropulos case, or the case of E.M. This character and circumstance is derived from a play by Karel Capek. E.M. is a woman of three hundred and forty two years. She has survived so long due to an immortality draught concocted by her father, a physician, long before the play’s action. E.M. explains her problem with immortality is that her unending life has become incredibly dull, her emotions have become cold and indifferent. She feels that in the end, everything

This notion is particularly evident in the realisation of the persona “years cannot move nor deaths disorienting scale distort those lamp lit presences” reiterating the immortality of memory as a constant, surpassing the boundaries of time and places we go.

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in the English language, playwright and actor. Shakespeare lived during the times of Elizabeth I and James I. He coined most of the new words and phrases that are still used today. This paper will analyze various information regarding Shakespeare’s childhood, education, employment, etc.

This is greatly illustrated in the book "Monkey" where the Monkey King mentions his desire to live forever at numerous points.

William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, a shoemaker and a daughter of an affluent farmer in 1564. He was born on April 23, and baptised two days later. William attended the local grammar school, the King's Scchool. He was born and lived in a smal town called Stratford-upon-Avon about 100 miles west of London. Shakespeare had three younger brothers and two older sisters. Shakespeare never attended University. Because of the lack of records of when Shakespeare was a child,some people question his existence.

Life, the existence of an individual human being. All humans have the desire to “exist” as one would say, to become influential in this world. But is it not possible to exist once one is gone? Famous film director Alfred Hitchcock argues that characters are more important dead than alive. In this life, in order to become important or even cared about, one must die. Death has become the key to success because everyone misses those who are gone. Literary work such as Macbeth, A Lesson Before Dying, Are You Worth More Dead Than Alive? and, How the King of Pop Made 1.5 Million, have proven that not only characters but humans hold more value once they are dead.

Immortality has been made into this ultimate goal. Literature and films have often painted immortality as a gift only given to the few who have proven themselves worthy of it. A life full of great wisdom, experience, and many other joys. In Journey to the West, it opens up with the birth of Monkey and follows him as he tries to achieve immortality. Monkey wants immortality and is willing to do anything to get it; thinking immortality will bring him a an enlightened life. After reading Journey to the West, I believe immortality should not be something that is prized as the ultimate gift. I think living an immortal life would be far worse than a mortal one and throughout this paper I will discuss why.

While throwing logic at us from every angle, Lexchin also manages to appeal to our deeper desires. He plays on humans yearning for eternal youth and immortality, as well as our fear of death. Immortality is a common goal of society and Lexchin uses is as a tool to get the reader to listen to his argument.

Bernard Williams Markopoulos case focuses on the topic of immortality, and the issues that arise from the status of being immortal. Williams uses the concept of the play to refute the idea of immortality. This is due to the end of the Markopoulos play, where the immortal protagonist kills themselves out of the unbearable boredom of exhausting their categorical desires. Whereas Fischer rejects Williams view of immortality, due to the limiting constraints of his argument. Fischer asserts the immortal life would be livable, because it reflects a mortal life. In effect, I will further Fischer’s argument on the basis that an immortal life would be livable, on the account of packaged and repeatable goods. Therefore, this essay will explain the

In response to Bernard Williams’s The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality, I will argue in agreement with Williams’s claim that immortality, where humanly conceivable, is not desirable. In order to do so, I will first discuss categorical desires and the two conditions for an immortal life to be desirable, as defined by Williams. Next, I will assess Williams’s illustration of Elina Makropulos and consider why categorical desires are vital to the value one finds in life. Finally, I will recognize the theist’s objection to Williams’s argument and explain how Williams would respond.

Bernard Williams’ The Makropulos Case, focuses on the topic of immortality, and the issues that would arise from being immortal. Williams’ uses the concept of the Makropulos play to refute the idea of immortality, because the protagonist kills themselves out of unbearable boredom from exhausting their categorical desires. Whereas John Martin Fischer rejects Williams’ view of immortality, due to the limiting constraints of his argument. Fischer asserts the immortal life would be livable, because it reflects a mortal life. In effect, I will further Fischer’s argument, in proposing the concept of categorical desires evolving, and then the significance of external factors occurring in society. Therefore, this essay will explain the significant

We create our own plot line. And that plot line soon turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy” (Sheehy, p. 169). By creating our own life plot lines, we can control the outcomes to be either progressive or degenerative. Erikson’s theory has only three stages that address the ages of 21-65 years and older, whereas Sheehy believes that the first adulthood stage ends around the mid-forties and the second adulthood begins. There is a change in the mind of people entering this stage and they will either progress through the stage and be ready to be reborn or they will have some struggles they will have to overcome. Even though Erikson’s stages have individual’s fulfill their stages in one way or another, Sheehy’s stage of second adulthood is based more on the ways we create our life path and how fulfilled we make our

In The Experience Machine by Robert Nozick tells a story about a future event that has taken place in the world. During this event, humans are plugged into these machines that allow them to choose any pleasurable acts for duration of two years, and then at the end of the two years, they are allowed to choose more acts that would make them happy. Nozick gives objections to the theory that happiness is the only thing desirable for its own sake by arguing that being aware of reality is vital for it allows the person to actually live their life and not live life as an unknown being. When Nozick claims that “Plugging into the machine is a kind of suicide,” he argues that one is not really living just merely existing. Nozick claims that the person

Whether it is hope for a better position in society, or hope for a lover's companionship, the attachment to desire ignores the eventual reality of impermanence. Death assures our mandatory individuality. Though we may accumulate relationships and material possessions throughout the course of our earthly life, we are nonetheless subordinate to the limits of time.

In this hypothetical, two options are given. A person may choose from being reincarnated as Haydn, a famous musical composer, for 77 years. Or one may live as an Oyster, and decide for themselves however long they want to live. An oyster would experience unlimited years of a feeling that is near that of floating drunk in a bathtub. As Haydn, a person would experience the highs and the lows of life. Haydn composed many symphonies, and was a celebrity in his day as a musical composer. With being famous and influential, comes low times and struggles as well. The decision is between a painless life of small satisfaction, or a mix between extreme satisfaction and extreme lows. Two well-known philosophers have very different thought processes, when it comes to this thought experiment. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are their names. I side with John Stuart Mill’s qualitative hedonism. I believe that his theory is more plausible. I believe this because in my life I have encountered the joy of higher pleasure and am certain it is much better than that of a lower pleasure.