Philosophy of Life Essay

What are you willing to sacrifice in order to be happy? Recall that in Brave New World, religion, history, art, family, and love were sacrificed. By choosing to accept or reject, a person expresses their individuality, even if they choose a way of life that seeks to erase their individuality. What would Sartre say about this? And Frankl? The one thing that is said that makes us an individual is our emotions that control our minds. Individuality is essential to the

everything he does.”(Sartre 29) That is a scary thought, that we are completely and absolutely free and responsible for that freedom. It is worth noting the context in which the existentialist ideas of Sartre and de Beauvoir arose. After the world wars philosophy returned to its origins; ‘what do we know and how do we know it?’ was the question. Existentialists answered, “all we really know is that we exist”. This is the point of departure for philosophers such as Sartre and de Beauvoir. Despite this common

” Here one sees that Woyzeck believes that even if he made it to the infinite happiness of heaven, his hardship would still continue, as he would be made to work on the thunder along with the rest of the poor. Woyzeck considers no sight of a better life or future for his family, and accepts his fortune to live as a slave to others. This says a lot about Woyzeck, he was born into poverty and he clearly accepts it but knows he has to work hard to take care of himself, his wife and child. It is very

In analysis of “Do You Have a Life Calling”, an article written by Holly Epstein Ojalvo, one is subjected to questions pertaining to the nature of finding your role in life. According to the author, many falsely presume they must follow their longings and find themselves in the process. Instead, Holly suggests, one should devote themselves to a cause and “get lost”. Based upon personal observation, the key to one’s happiness and ability to achieve fulfillment in life is to pursue passion derived from

We as humans have no real way of knowing our purpose on this world. One potential reasoning for human existence could be whether or not we were put here to congregate together, or to fend for ourselves. John Donne expresses in “Meditation 17” his belief in working together in mankind; whereas in Matthew Arnold’s poem, “To Marguerite – Continued” states that “We mortal enemies live alone.” Even though Donne’s theory would be most ideal to put belief in, I firmly believe in the idea that humans are

Socrates, Philosophy and the Good Life Socrates' belief was that he was called on by the Gods to live his life examining others and himself. He believed the necessity of doing what one thinks is right even in the face of universal opposition, and the need to pursue knowledge even when opposed. "I became completely convinced, to the duty of leading the philosophical life by examining myself and others."¹ Socrates believed that to desert this idea was ridiculous and would make his life absurd.

others. In any case, what can be said from the very beginning is that by existentialism we mean a doctrine which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares that every truth and every action implies a human setting and a human subjectivity. As is generally known, the basic charge against existentialists is that they put the emphasis on the dark side of human life. Consequently, existentialism is regarded as something ugly; that is why existentialists are said to be naturalists; and if

Sophocles presents Antigone as a strong woman who is both dedicated to her family and her community. Much conflict arises between these two dedications. In this paper, I will give examples of Antigone’s different individual responsibilities and her philosophies and explain how they conflict with the commitment that she is to have to her community and indirectly, her king. Ultimately, I will argue that Sophocles demonstrated his ideas as to what values the Greek community should hold at the most profound

Buddhism can be compared and contrasted to my own philosophy is intriguing. I believe that I agree with not all, but some of the elements of Buddhism, but where I do differ, I differ greatly. Buddhism’s World View can be summed up by the Three Marks of Reality. The Marks are Change (“life’s constant change, or impermanence”), No Permanent Identity (“no self’”), and Suffering (“dissatisfaction [with life]”) (Molloy pg. 132-134). Change is that life is always subtly changing second to second. No Permanent

poetry is clearly due to the influence of Romanticism, the new cultural, artistic and literary movement that was expanding in all Europe during the first decades of XIX century and that introduces an alternative concept to the previous illuminist philosophy, based on the disquietude and the dissatisfaction of human psyche that has to incessantly fight against illusions of reality. The negativism on the concept of human existence is exposed in the poets' works: one of the notes in the 'Lo Zibaldone