The Cynics believed that the very essence of civilization is corrupt, and so lived austere, unconventional lives. They distrusted luxury as a “hook” that always brought complications and frustration in to people’s lives. Happiness could only come from self-discipline
In his essay, “Where I lived, and What I lived For”, Henry David Thoreau says, “Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundless truths, while reality is fabulous.” He talks about how much better life would be if people focused on reality rather than their dreams. In doing so, Thoreau appears to his audience using logic. He establishes himself as someone who has faced this type of situation before. People are caught up in ‘soundless truths’ which means that they are fooling themselves of the real truth. He says that people should not allow themselves to get their hopes up that something good is going to happen to them.
Despite being a theory which seemingly encourages acceptance and moral rationality, subjectivism is deemed as flawed on two predominant levels. Firstly, it assumes an infallibility for the speaker that is not justified. And secondly, subjectivism seemingly renders moral disagreement and therefore advancement impossible. Whilst these two objections may seem solid on a logical level, they pose little threat to subjectivism as an undeniable fact of reality. The first argument, that subjectivism creates infallible moral agents, reads as follows.
One would have to agree with him that manley pointer seems suspiciously non human and “the essence of nihilism itself.” He sees the story as an example of morality where joy-hulga the “sinister” that get a life learning lesson from her encounter with manley pointer. Edmond realizes and sees manley pointer as someone who “is something more than human” and yet fails to sees manley pointer as the devil himself. Edmondson notices that manley is a nihilist and a
Yet, if we observe that pleasure is good, we should be able to ask is good pleasure. However if an individual gains pleasure through inflicting harm can we conclude that good and pleasure are one and the same thing? In short ethical naturalism is unable to define good, yet continues to claim that ethical language is based on objective truth. Non Cognitive approaches to meta ethics such as emotivism and prescriptivism argue that ethical language is subjective. A. J. Ayer claims that ethical language
He means that if the venture needs you to be anyone else but yourself, it will lead to no good. This reveals to me that Thoreau believes strongly in the individual, being yourself, and seeking your own path. This quote is also applicable to modern life because many ventures nowadays require you to conform for some purpose. The second aphorism I remembered is “Our life is frittered away by detail...Simplicity, simplicity.” Thoreau means that our focus and attention to detail now in society and culture do nothing but to waste our lives away needlessly. He believes simplicity is the better choice.
He tries his hardest to fight for his salvation and prove to the white men that they are no hog. In Both stories no one ever had the courage to go against society because they were so use to doing what they were told. Humans should never be given to much power because they wont know how to use it wisely. For example, look at Hitler, Mussolini, Napoleon or Stalin. The people gave them to much power, and they became power hungry tyrants.
In both the novel The Outsider and the movie “Dead poets Society” it is evident that liberty does not exist, since a person is only free while obeying society’s guidelines. It is difficult to Accept that a people live by society’s expectations. Every person aspires to be unique and to have an original life, but everyone lives and acts the way in which they are expected to. This is clearly illustrated by the character Meursault as his personality bothers the reader indirectly, because he is so distinct. The first lines of the novel demonstrate the type of person he is, as he says “Maman died today.
Society had thrown out Oakhurst, Duchess and Mother Shipton for them being themselves; by living their successes they were condemned. The lovers left society because they knew their union wouldn’t be accepted. This is an example in literature about how the society in real life didn’t accept people who were living out their lives on their terms and not according to any unspoken rules that were expected to follow. Though all of the outcasts were looked down upon and their lives were cut short by the storm that forced premature death they had been living the new American success by being themselves and not letting society dictate their every decision. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain show both how society still tries to shape individuals and how Huck lives his own success.
Social rejection was a constant worry, so survivors kept their history a secret (Chaitin-1). Acknowledgement for the crimes committed against them was their most fervent wish (Chaitin-2). Little did they know, along with the rest of the world, an even deadlier weapon was being created just after the initial