...Age and Immortality are common contradictory themes of human nature--as a person gets older, their wish to live forever only grows deeper; they become desperate as they find a way, any way, to be able to defeat death and live generations into the future. Age is inevitable, and immortality is unachievable. It is for this reason that everyone rejects their old age and are eager to embrace the ideas of life past death. Many people chase power in pursuit of immortality, but many people do not realize time eventually erases everything. Percy Shelley’s “Ozymandias” highlights the power of time as a traveler visits the ruins of Ozymandias, a great king of the past who is now forgotten. All that is left of his legacy is a broken statue that reads, “‘Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’” (11), in which the speaker then comments, “nothing beside remains” (12). This...
Words: 851 - Pages: 4
...The Epic of Gilgamesh: An Analysis The Epic of Gilgamesh teaches us many things about the Mesopotamian perception of the metaphysical. The Mesopotamian gods are quite Hellenistic in the way that they may interfere as they see fit with human beings to the point that they may conceive children with them; Gilgamesh himself is two thirds god and one third man. Gilgamesh’s mother is Ninsun who is a minor goddess known for her wisdom and his father was the king of Uruk before him. Throughout the story there are instances of the gods interfering in the deeds of men, for instance once Enkidu and Gilgamesh return to the city of Uruk with the wood they have taken from the great cedar forest Ishtar the goddess of love, war, and half a dozen other things asks Gilgamesh to be her consort which Gilgamesh turns down rather rudely citing the terrible fates of her past lovers. Enraged Ishtar acquires the bull of heaven to destroy the city of Uruk and in another deed of heroic valor Enkidu and Gilgamesh kill the bull of heaven. So not only do the gods mate and interact with humans, they also feel emotions like that of a human. In the case of Ishtar she is quite capable of feeling petty emotions like jealousy and rage, these feelings push her to potentially punish all of Uruk by releasing the bull of heaven. Ishtar paints a picture of the gods that portrays an unwieldy and cantankerous relationship between men and gods that most of the time ends up putting people in a not so desirable situation...
Words: 1239 - Pages: 5
...gods. The Epic of Gilgamesh establishes a profound sense of interdependence between humans and God. Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, embarks on a journey that exemplifies the intricate connection between mortals and deities. Although he possesses immense physical strength, he is depicted as vulnerable and subject to the divine. His quest for immortality explores the dynamic between humanity and the divine realm. Gilgamesh journeys to the Cedar Forest...
Words: 1456 - Pages: 6
...Should Death be feared? According to philosopher Epicurus, death should not be feared. Epicurus argued that the ultimate goal of life is to pursue pleasure and minimize pain. In his view, since pleasure and pain only exists in the “living world”, there would be neither pleasure nor pain when an individual is dead. Therefore, the state of death should never get worse in terms of that pursuit of pleasure. Human beings tend to fear for the possibility that a situation might get worse, but when something doesn’t get worse there is nothing to be feared. Being dead is motionless, painless and sensationless. When the physical body is no longer functional, there is no conscious. Since all the neurons are dead, there would be no sensation to be felt. The good and the evil lie in in true sensation. Pleasure and pain are derived from a physical or psychological feeling we are, for better or worse, affected by. If there were no feeling, there would be no pain. Fear initially derives from the feeling of pain or imminent discomfort. The state of death possesses neither of those two evils. In a place where evil doesn’t exist, there is nothing to be feared. Epicurus also mentioned how death as the most awful of evils, is nothing to us, because the existence of our consciousness implies that we are not dead, while the status of being dead indicates that we are senseless. Since they are mutually exclusive, death should not dominate as one of our fears. While it is undeniable that death brings...
Words: 892 - Pages: 4
...Death and the Soul—Epicureanism and Stoicism Introduction What happens at death and the idea of the afterlife put human logic and science to a test. However, ancient philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurus, use the science of thought in order to understand complex ideas of the nonexistent. As David Lund, put it philosophy can suspend the facts of death in order to help search for life after death (Lund, 6). The ambiguity that science sees can be approach and open-minded thinkers. Life’s mysteries are evaluated by philosophers as results and the phenomenon of death on the physical plain is clear where science is not. The question as to whether or not life is simply a finite experience that disappears and fades to dust, or something more than this, falls into the disciplines of both philosophy and religion. In addition to death itself, the aspect of the soul is likewise a topic of considerable dispute and discussion within these two areas of study. The debate over whether or not human beings are purely physical in nature or something more is inherent within this ongoing discussion. Epicureanism and Stoicism will be explored to this end to better illustrate the varying theoretical and philosophical perspectives that are in place regarding both death and the element of the soul. In doing so, the acts of creativity that are relevant to this, for example, art, architecture, history, literature, music, and religion, will also be explored to better illustrate the...
Words: 5329 - Pages: 22
...Man at the Brink of Immortality From the earliest civilizations arose an innate desire to survive in any given environment. Those that chose to fight death’s henchmen, famine and war, developed more advanced agricultural techniques and created complex social structures. The primal instinct to exist drove humanity to proliferate across the world, as many populations boomed, seemingly without bound. Throughout history, this fervent yearning for life was shared by the predominant masses, but the inevitable befell every person on earth. Accepting the natural process of life became the standard, when the multitudes that sought to find the fountain of youth and the elixir of life eventually failed. Religious zeal relieved the hopelessness of the situation for the Romans dreamed of the Elysian Fields, the Christians prayed for a majestic Heaven, and the Buddhists awaited the bliss of Nirvana. Ultimately immortality, whether be it spiritual continuance in the afterlife, philosophical justification of a fundamental essence, or scientific perpetuation of the physical self, brings meaning to life in relationship to the individual. The depth of this argument initially appears to be too ambiguous and irrelevant to every unique individual. First of all, the cases of immortality stated above, while all equally valid, are by no means inclusive of every possible situation. Rather, immortality shall be defined as the eternal perpetuation of any human component, which relates to personal...
Words: 1899 - Pages: 8
...points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts. As the last speaker, and the most important one, Socrates connects his ideas with Diotima of Mantinea’s story of Love’s origin, nature and purpose. Different from the earlier five speakers who regard Love as an object and praise different sides of it, Socrates, referring to Diotima’s idea, considers Love as a pursuit of beauty gradually from “physical beauty of people in general” (Symposium, Plato, 55) to the “true beauty” (55). The first five speeches bond with each other. Each of them mentions the opinions of the former one in order to either support or against them. However, just like the elements of a beautiful picture, they fail to show us the integration of love. Socrates’ speech does that. It contains the sides mentioned before, and uniquely views Love from a dynamic aspect. Phaedrus Phaedrus is the first one to give a speech to praise love. He begins his speech with the claim that Love is a primordial god, with no parents. Hence there must be some human benefits that are due...
Words: 2565 - Pages: 11
...何梓涵 12010007 To Professor Hou Yiling English Literature The Transient Sublime and Mortality in “Ode to a Nightingale” Composed during the most creative period in Keats’s brief poetic career, “Ode to a Nightingale” has long been regarded as one of the most refined works of his poetry. Previous criticism has comprehensively explored its themes of nature, beauty and mortality, as well as its demonstration of Keats’s notion of Negative Capability. But based on my research, few critical reviews have touched upon the point which I find clearly suggest itself in this poem: that the poet’s experience here depicted is not merely an escape into the realm of ideal beauty, but also an intoxication with the Romantic sublime. Between the sublime and his anticipated death, Keats builds an analogical connection from which he gains insights into both. Hence it is my endeavour in this paper to illustrate that in “Ode to a Nightingale”, Keats describes the entire process of his journey into and back from the sublime, after which he has to face again the transience of the sublime and the mortality of human life. Traditionally, most critics agree on the poem’s theme being the conflict between reality and the Romantic ideal of uniting with nature, among many other contrasts that are present throughout the poem. The most representative interpretation comes from Richard Fogle, who defines the principal stress of the poem as a struggle between ideal and actual, containing more particular antitheses...
Words: 2490 - Pages: 10
...sometimes not only can memorials remind civics of past history but also they can be used as a tactic for certain people to pursuit their political appeals. In the article A Marble House Divided, Scott Sandage mainly talked about two great history events—Marian Aderson’s emancipation concert and the big march on Washington. By elaborating these two events, Scott Sandage try to demonstrate what role did Lincoln memorial play in the African American civil rights movement and how did the Lincoln memorial helped blacks to strive for equality and freedom. Begin with explaining the origins of Lincoln memorial Scott gradually described the process that Lincoln memorials became a locale for African...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...Sean Essary Mythic Truths Dr. Himes English 4003.3 09/30/14 Gilgamesh: The Return Gilgamesh sits stoically, with both feet tucked under him. He feels the dew from the fleece tickle against his muscular legs. All he has to do is remain awake for six days and seven nights and Utnapishtim will grant him eternal life. After witnessing the death of his beloved Enkidu he is afraid his own lifeforce will soon leave his body. He is determined not to suffer the same miserable fate as Enkidu. “I, Gilgamesh, the mighty ruler of Uruk,” he thought to himself; “Slayed Humbaba, in his forest and felled the great Bull of Heaven. Surely I will be able to complete this test.” It is not long before Gilgamesh begins to feel the weight of his eyelids as he strains with every fiber of his considerably muscular being to stay awake; however, he is weary from his long journey and cannot best his mortality—Gilgamesh succumbs to a deep slumber. In what seemed like only a moment, Gilgamesh is awakened by the smell of bread baking over burning embers. Utnapishtim explains to Gilgamesh that he has been asleep almost seven days. Each day Utnapishtim’s wife has baked a loaf of bread for everyday that Gilgamesh has been asleep. Gilgamesh begins to protest, but upon seeing the rotting bread lying on the ground, he becomes distraught at the realization that will not escape his mortality—it is his destiny to die. Not wanting Gilgamesh to leave empty handed, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh about a flower...
Words: 1184 - Pages: 5
...multiple Gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife. Relating to religion, life means to know and understand the mystery of God; to love and glorify God by enjoying Him forever, be at the heart of the Divine; to have a pure soul and know oneself, others and the will of heaven. Hinduism In hinduism, life's meanings are defined four goals (aims) of human life which are called the four purusharthas. The four purusharthas are: Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Moksha. In Sanskrit, ‘Dharma’ means one's destiny or purpose. In general, it refers to one's vocation or career. Dharma also means righteousness, duty-conscious, being virtual, living morally and ethically at all times. Artha is prosperity, wealth, money or success in worldly pursuits. In addition to leading a virtuous life that meets specific social and personal obligations, a Hindu should strive for success, in any given activity through lawful means within the bounds of dharma. Kama means the physical, emotional, and intellectual desires of a person. As stated in bhagavad gita, “he who performs his prescribed duties out of desire in the right manner will obtain the fulfilment of all the desires and reach the deathless state”. Moksha, the ultimate end of every Hindu's life, can be understood in a variety of ways: liberation from rebirth, enlightenment, Self-realization, or union with God. This is considered to be the highest purpose of life. A person who overcomes desires and therefore gains enlightenment can...
Words: 1002 - Pages: 5
...creature lives in a world full of people that all have one thing in common--a name. In this quote, the creature compare himself to both Adam and Satan, viewing himself as a human and a demon, a creature who is experiencing a lack of sense of self. Victor, a guilt-ridden and power willed man, greatly resembled Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh’s friend was killed by the gods primarily because of Gilgamesh’s refusal to listen and obey the gods. The same thing can be said about Victor’s brother, father, fiancée, and eventually himself died because of Victor’s refusal to accept responsibility for his creation. Victor, like Gilgamesh, was struggling to understand life and defeat death. The demonic obsession they both seem to carry to fulfill their pursuit of knowledge and immortality, does not result results in their favor. They both become conscious of the evil which lays in knowledge. ...
Words: 386 - Pages: 2
....2. Definition of literary criticism Literary criticism is the study, analysis, and evaluation of imaginative literature. Everyone who expresses an opinion about a book, a song, a play, or a movie is a critic, but not everyone’s opinion is based upon thought, reflection, analysis, or consistently principles. A single thought does not reflect a complete criticism. To develop literary criticism or any type of academic criticism, a student needs to support his/her ideas with examples from the text. 4. Examples (Frankenstein and Hamlet) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is an early product of the modern Western world. Written during the Romantic movement of the early 19th century, the book exemplifies themes that were born from the romantic era. The liberation of European revolutions came with high ideals and a strong belief in man's influence over his environment. In Shelley's novel, the reader can see the harsh reality that takes hold of such ideals. The book provides the concepts of the romantic disillusionment with the established order produced a crisis of idealism, faith in human perfectibility, and revolutionary energy. 6. Historical Analysis of the story How does the work reflect the time in which it was written? * In the XIX century, the creationism was in crisis, so that the positivism appeared, -although not totally- the faith in science replaced faith in God. In the story, science itself becomes religion not only for Aylmer but also for Georgina (along...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...Bioethics “How Does Science & Technology Transform The Meaning of Death?” by Willard Gaylin discusses the distinction between life and death, more specifically, the distinction between the converging lines of the non-living and living. Throughout the article Gaylin raises several arguments that supports his claim of this convergence between who and what we consider dead traditionally, versus the ability to detect life even after the absence of personhood through our innovations in technology. He supports this claim by stating that “New urgencies for recognition of the problem arise from two conditions: the continuing march of technology, making the sustaining of vital processes possible for longer periods of time; and the increasing use of parts of the newly dead to sustain life for the truly living (Gaylin, Willard. How Does Science & Technology Transform the Meaning of Death, Pp. 163).” As the article continues, Gaylin’s focus shifts towards justifying the farming or banking of the recently deceased as a means of bettering the lives of the living and future generations. However, before he begins on justifying the storage of the incapacitated, he spends a brief moment on how to make the distinction between what we should consider to be living and what is not. Gaylin believes that over generations we have innovated new ways in determining the absences of life. An example of this is made within the article to show the human capacity of innovation in this field when...
Words: 1020 - Pages: 5
...Ontological, Cosmological and Physico-theological (Design) arguments for God's existence. It is thus the text most central to the negative elements of Kant's philosophy of religion and is integral to the widely held view that Kant is deeply hostile to faith. The general aim of the Transcendental Dialectic is to expose reason's excesses, its drive to move beyond the limits of possible experience, and to bring all concepts into a systematic unity under an “unconditioned condition.” The Transcendental Dialectic begins with a critique of reason's illusions and errors within the sphere of Rational Psychology. It then moves on to a critique of cosmological metaphysics, and then to the “Ideal of Reason” where Kant turns to Rational Theology and its pursuit of religious knowledge. As Kant explains, underlying all the traditional proofs for God's existence is the concept of the ens realissimum, the most real being. Reason comes to the idea of this being through the principle that every individuated object is subject to the “principle of complete determination.” While the generality of concepts allow them to be less than fully determined (e.g. our concept of a horse extends over horses that are different colors, heights, etc.), individuated objects must be completely determined (e.g. an individual horse must have specific colors, a specific height, etc.). Hence, where the particular determinations of actual objects are discovered through experience, our concepts, which in themselves are...
Words: 13468 - Pages: 54
