The population’s state of fear is an example of a negative mood which then leads to the population believing that there’s a defect in their environment. What follows is constant scrutiny of their environment and the people in it. And it’s this constant scrutiny that the government wants. The government wants the population to feel that there is something wrong with their lives and that there is something missing. They want this because the realization that something is wrong or missing leads the population to try and find the solution or the missing piece.
But unlike earlier philosophers, such as Socrates who were concerned with how to live a good/ethical life, and famously said ‘the unexamined life is hardly worth living’, both Nietzsche and Sartre are concerned with being and existence. The first and most important tenet of Existentialist thought is that Man Is Free. Nietzsche believed that the ‘will to power’, was the primary drive and the source of all creative activity and the key to human freedom. It was the all-important way to achieve freedom of the individual and that absolute objective truth of the world was an illusion and our search for such a truth is bred from fear. While having much in common with Nietzsche, both are atheistic existentialists, Sartre proposed that man is nothing but what he makes of himself and therefore by taking responsibility for his actions he can change his life and create a new Man.
Character Flaw: Even though Oedipus is praised by his people for being a responsible and honest king, he possesses a major character flaw in his attitude towards the gods which causes the tragic torture he faces in the end. His incestuous ways are the outcome of anger from the gods for being intelligent and because the leader of the state is plagued with such a flaw the state must suffer for the wronging of the leader. Belief: This sense of contamination ultimately leads the gods to cleanse the state, household, and Oedipus by revealing the flaw to everyone and Oedipus at the same time. He is driven to the belief that he can control his own fate, and not leave it up to the gods. Lack of Belief: The people of the land are religious and live there lives according to what messengers and oracles tell them.
Situation ethics is a Christian approach in dealing with ethical problems and moral choices. Joseph Fletcher, who published his theory in his book ‘Situation Ethics’ in 1966, primarily developed the theory. The theory is teleological due to its belief that actions have no intrinsic value. Instead, the theory focuses on one intrinsic good, agape, the Greek word for self-sacrificial, impersonal love. Agape is believed to love as God loves and Fletcher described it as ‘an attitude not a feeling’, therefore separating it from all other forms of love.
It is said that Lao-tzu wrote the Tao-te as a political guide for those who created the power structure and maintained the order of the land. In doing so he gave advice, rather than setting rules. He believed that the government should play a smaller role in the day to day lives of their citizens. Meaning, instead of watching over every person with an iron fist, allow them to show the natural good in themselves. Lao-tzu was a firm believer that playing a bigger role will ruin the balance of tranquility.
The teacher perceives that although the philosopher king would be the finest choice for a ruler, it was much more likely that for a despot to hold the position of power. The Socrates makes is that a philosopher would make the best king. If a man could possess both philosophic thinking, and the proper skills necessary for ruling an assembly of people, said the teacher, then he would be the perfect king. I partially understand; however, I’m not aware of what qualities a philosopher has that make him so perfect. Allow me to explain.
Edwards’s language choice affects the audience's emotional response, and emotional appeal, to enhance the argument; “You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment.” He uses as many terms and diction’s as possible to frighten the sinners. His selling idea is to have as many sinners as possible to repent and to his observations the most effective and ethical (ethos) way, was through fear and intimidation. He wrote the sermon with a passion and anger that partly reflected what he thought of God’s anger. He ask the audience to repent in an ethical manner, trying to reason with the sinners,
Everyone must learn to control this pride, and if they cannot, learn to accept the consequences. The ability to maintain pride without being arrogant puts some individuals above the masses. Throughout his epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer's use of plot events and conflict emphasizes that while a small amount of pride is helps one to succeed, excess pride leads to arrogance, destroying even the best people. Throughout the plot of Homer's epic, several men make challenges to Odysseus due to their excessive pride and arrogance, pushing them towards their demise. Each of these men makes an ill-advised challenge to Odysseus because of their arrogance and comes out physically or emotionally damaged.
* “Do you know who makes good first impressions? Liars.” * "The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." Joseph Conrad * "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you will see." Winston Churchill * "When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him."
Emerson illustrates that although occupations like philanthropists seems like a beneficial thing, he would still sometimes consider it to be “malice and vanity.” (Page 22) Instead of trying to show off our goodness by helping those far away from us, why don’t we just simply do what’s right in concern of ourselves? Men should use virtue as a “penance,” (Page 23) instead of as a tool to gain social recognition. Kindness is the responsibility of every man. We should do it by natural means in order to respect our creators, not to conform. A man can only truly be a man when he follows his own thoughts and personalities, when he/her breaks free from all restrictions and outside judgments.