...The European Enlightenment is the well known era in Western society. The Enlightenment was a study conducted by the philosopher Immanuel Kant in 1784. Kant's essay addressed the causes of a lack of enlightenment and the conditions that were necessary to make it possible for people to enlighten themselves. Kant held it necessary that all church and state to be abolished and people be given the freedom to use their own intellect. Hobbesian social control theory was a ideological invention that came about during the pre 1750s. The social control theory is a view that a person’s moral and political obligations are dependent upon a ‘contract’ or an agreement among that to form a society in which they live in. However, social contract theory is rightly associated with modern moral and political theory and is given its first full exposition and defence by Thomas Hobbes. After Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the best known proponents of this enormously influential theory, which has been one of the most dominant theories within moral and political theory throughout the history of the modern West. More recently, philosophers from different perspectives have offered new criticisms of social contract theory. In particular, feminist’s philosophers have argued that the social control theory is an incomplete picture of people’s moral and political lives and may camouflage some on the ways that people live and their classes. Hobbes manages to create an argument that makes civil...
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... to seek enlightenment. Through his journey, he encountered obstacles that he had to overcome. Each one of his different lives that he lived helped him to reach enlightenment. He lived through his father’s beliefs, the beliefs of the Samanas, the luxurious life, and the life off a ferryman. Each one of these journeys taught him something new that he had not known before. One way Siddhartha tried to attain enlightenment was through his father’s beliefs. Siddhartha realized in able to attain enlightenment, he would have to go on his own path and leave his father’s side. His life with the Samanas taught him many skills that helped him later on in life. He learned to fast, wait, and think which made him very unique from most people. After spending many years with the Samanas, he believed it was time to move on to the next phase of his life. In next part of his life, he lost his vision of reaching enlightenment. He spent so much time following the Samanas ways of living and never reached enlightenment. He became trapped in the life of luxury and riches. He learned to be a business man and make money through work. He slept with women and drank wine. All of these little new parts of his life contributed to the loss of his vision towards enlightenment. He met a girl named Kamala which brought out feeling he had never felt towards a person in his life. His relationship with her became intimate and actually helped lead him in the right direction towards enlightenment...
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...comes to mind? To many people, the enemy is usually their rival or someone they despise. During the Age of Enlightenment, two critical philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, both mentioned this word, enemies, in their works. Most interestingly, their attitudes towards the enemy are not the same; the enemy is also not its definition. Both philosophers clearly utilizes this word to convey their messages or ideas toward human nature and the Enlightenment more clearly. Hobbes sees the enemies as a concrete concept, a physical referent, while Rousseau has a more abstract viewpoint on enemies, and both of their approaches enforce their personal beliefs toward their changing society....
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...Enlightenment Unity, a never ending circle. In some religion, life is thought of as a never ending circle. There would be those select few that would be able to escape this eternal circle to attain a certain spirituality. Many of these religions offer a final spiritual destination, it could be the promise of life after death, release from pain and suffering, or knowledge, the list is endless. This spirituality can be thought as a goal, which people are striving to attain. In Buddhism, the final goal can be called enlightenment, nirvana. There are many people throughout history that devote their lives to reach this final goal of enlightenment. Similarly in Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, the life journeys of Govinda, Gautama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha show that everyone has a different way to reach enlightenment, but each way includes learning and love. Govinda, Gautama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha had experienced a learning process in order to reach enlightenment. “Behold, then Govinda also stepped forward, the shy one, and spoke, ‘I too appeal to the Exalted One and to his teachings’, and asked for acceptance among the disciples, and was accepted” (26). This is when Siddhartha and Govinda went to the city of Savatthi, seeking to hear Gautama’s teachings. After hearing this many people along with Govinda stepped forward and asked to be accepted among the disciples. At that point in time one could not have possibly reached enlightenment without the prior knowledge and understanding...
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...to keep his peers busy. In Prussia Frederick the Great created a more equal society that saw Nobles become. Ore involved with national affairs by involving themselves militaristically. Russia experienced Catherine the Great and the modernization of Russian society by introducing philosophical and scientific ideas into society. The Glorious Revolution is a manifestation of the enlightenment theme in Britain. James II attempted to consolidate British power but...
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...Enlightenment in Fifth Business: The Beauty of Change Fiona Doomasia West Carleton Secondary School Ms. Bell (e-Learning with O.C.D.S.B.) ENG4UT Monday, July 13, 2015 Enlightenment in Fifth Business: The Beauty of Change Millions of people devote their entire lives to achieving enlightenment; however, very few people truly understand how to do this, and what it feels like. Enlightenment is an abstract concept of attaining knowledge and reaching self awareness. Despite the ambiguity in the meaning of enlightenment, today’s society believes that it will guarantee self satisfaction. In Fifth Business, Robertson Davies portrays a man’s quest for enlightenment through his unpredictable life journey. Every change in Dunstan Ramsay’s life journey teaches him a valuable life lesson, and changes him for the better, resulting in his discovery of enlightenment. The road to enlightenment is paved by the insight on life that Dunstan gains as he changes his physical locations over the course of the novel. It is also clear that change can be enlightening when looking at the important characteristics that Dunstan develops from the variety of people that he surrounds himself with throughout life. Lastly, the knowledge that Dunstan learns through his many ambition changes proves to help him find personal enlightenment. Through the principles that Dunstan learns from his perpetual changes in setting, friends and ambitions, Davies uses Dunstan’s life journey to show that in order to...
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...The so-called long Age of Enlightenment in Europe, stretching from the mid-17th century into the 1830s, engendered new political, economic and social ideals and generated knowledge across the arts and sciences. But part of its impetus was outside of Europe. Dorinda Outram likens the European Enlightenment to" a world drama of cross-cultural contact" that "triggered anxieties" for Europeans about the nature of being civilized (Outram, 2004). To the 17th century English philosopher John Locke, an early archetype of an enlightened thinker, the discovery of the New World of America "enlarged the sphere of contemplation" about "civilized man" and his "savage ancestors" (Locke, 1690). There was more to discover. The scientific journeys of exploration around the Pacific in the 18th century by James Cook, another archetypal figure of the Enlightenment, were significant in creating the imagination and knowledge of the age. Although the Enlightenment was a European phenomenon, its scope became global as the scholars of Europe attempted to classify and order the peoples, plants and animals of other worlds as well as map their landscapes. Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith succinctly sums up the process: "They came, they saw, they named, they claimed" (Tuhiwai Smith, 2001, p. 80). 'Discovery' was the watchword of the Enlightenment (Porter, 2000), realised only by a few Europeans but imagined by many others and evident in the fashion for paintings of drawing room explorations with globes ahd...
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...The Heart of Buddhism Buddhism is one of the oldest religions of the world today. Many persons associate it with a very fat man and a huge belly and a very wide smile, however this is just one of the many faces of Buddha. Globally there has been an increase in practices of this faith mainly due to the fact that it promotes peace and healthy living. Buddhist do not believe in violence and ensures person apply others before themselves. The history of Buddhism begins in India and it has now spread to a vast majority of other countries within the world today. The heart of Buddhism is to allow oneself to suffer and through that suffering truth can then be attained; it is though suffering which allows individuals to understand others as well as themselves. Figures such as the Dalai Lama have helped to put a spotlight on the religion and the views which are held within the belief. It’s surprising because this religion developed from a simple form of teachings into a very sophisticated for of beliefs and way of life. It can be noted that the development of Buddhism into a diverse religion was inevitable. Many of the controversies that surround Buddhism today are the fact that this religion does not see itself viable or loyal to one deity. People in religious circles argue this validity because religion is essentially based on the deity or deities that they follow. Buddhism has various forms of teaching that tend to improve the sensibility of those who practice it and help them to...
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...October 19, 2015 Debora Aubuchon The Romantic Heart Romanticism and Enlightenment were two viewpoints that culminated in the 17th and 18th centuries. These ways of thinking are varied in certain characteristics and aspects when compared side by side, but they also share some similarities. Many literary works from this era reflected the traits of one or both of these philosophical structures and often reflected or built upon earlier works of the same caliber. As most classical masterpieces do, the particular works that display attributes from the Enlightenment and Romantic philosophies have lent a proverbial stepping stone that - intentionally or unintentionally – led to influence on the modern world. First it is important to note the differences between Enlightenment and Romanticism. These two philosophies have always been at odds, one (Enlightenment) teaching that faith inhibits reason and the other (Romanticism) teaching that creativity and intuition allows individuals to unlock their true potential. Romanticism sought to celebrate people as individuals and encouraged the followers to express themselves, their point of views, and explore the different facets of their personalities. Enlightenment on the other hand saw people as a group and encouraged applicable rules and theories to fit one and all. These differences set the scene for some interesting literary works in the Enlightenment and Romantic era. Classic literary works such as Goethe’s Faust, Voltaire’s...
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...The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution are two fundamentally different events. The focus of the Enlightenment was primarily intellectual. Thinkers and intellectuals were primarily focused on “reason, individualism, and progress.” (Thackeray, 1998, p. 83) The Industrial Revolution was primarily economic. The Industrial Revolution was a period of time marked by continuous increases in productivity despite outside factors such as population increases. (Thackeray, 1998, p. 140) A fundamental area of divergence between the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution is political. The Enlightenment thinkers were fostering the idea of natural rights. Specifically, this idea was a product of John Locke; a major player during the Enlightenment. (Thackeray, 1998, p. 79) The Industrial Revolution and its associated technological advances took in a more sinister turn in Africa. The European powers used the technology to enslave and...
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...Buddhism. The atthakatha means the “explanation of the meaning” or “commentary” and can be mentioned as exegetical treatises on the texts of the Pali canon. Their main object is, therefore, to explain difficult words and abstruse points of doctrine that occur in the Texts and also to give additional explanatory information wherever it was deemed necessary.[1] For that reason Atthakatha is usually considered as the huge encyclopedia of Buddhist study. One can find in this precious treasure any interpretations of the Buddhist terminology, idea and philosophical explanation on Tipitakas; for almost the Pali Tipitaka has its own commentary. The concept of Paramitas is well-known not only in Mahayana tradition with the aim of complete enlightenment but also it is interpreted in almost by the same way in Theravada especially it is revealed in commentaries literature. Historically along the process of development, there are many arguments and misunderstandings between these two traditions especially while Mahayana developed many new concepts like the concept and practice of bodhisattva with numerous skillful means (upāyaksalya) which seem to go too far away from the orthodox teaching of the Buddha according to the Theravada tradition. However it is said that within the Pali commentaries many doctrinal agreements between these two traditions are found. Hence, it is very important to study Pali commentaries so that one can find the original teachings or the spirit of Buddhism among...
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...the age of reason, and enlightenment. During the enlightenment, people valued reason over faith. Which contrasts immensely to the puritans and era before of New Lands. Unlike the Puritans, the people believed humans are by nature good. Famous writers...
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...The American Enlightenment was a time period where people started to question how things were made and why they were made. Instead of believing what rulers or high ranked people said, they started to use their reason and intelligence. It gave rise to the American Revolution, development of education, and question religion. The development of the American Enlightenment came also the Great Awakening which made religion revive in the lives of the colonists because they were focusing more on money and materialism and forgetting that Christ wanted them to come before him. The Great Awakening brought people back to their feet and understanding that Christ was essential. Both the American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening, gave rise to conflicts...
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...Title It is in the spirit of the Enlightenment to ponder human nature. Just as the Enlightenment leads one to question his or her decision making—emphasizing decisions based in reason—the Enlightenment also leads one to question the motive behind those choices. Is it human nature to act in one’s own self-interest or, rather, on a moral sense? Connected to these questions on motive are the Enlightenment concepts of beauty, or “that quality…by which [it causes] love, or some passion similar to it,” and the sublime: “whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger.” Beauty and sublime hold immense influence over the human conscience and that is evident far beyond the Enlightenment period. People then and now often choose...
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...enlightened life and Nirvana in the afterlife. The beliefs that they follow are known as the Eight Fold Path. This path is used to help humans end the suffering in their life and achieve liberation. It is based on The Four Noble Truths that Buddha set forth in his first Sermon (Fisher, 2005, pg. 135). The Four Noble Truths speak of suffering as an inevitable part of life. It states that suffering can be ceased through the ending of wants and desires, because these things cause our suffering in life. By understanding the Four Noble Truths and following the Eight Fold Path, followers can learn to liberate themselves from suffering and find enlightenment. Many different forms of this religion exist today. The Zen sect of the Buddhist religion is one of the most practiced in the United States. Zen Buddhism teaches enlightenment through meditation. They believe that meditation will lead to a sudden...
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