Humanism Essays (Examples)

One cannot look at humanism and the Renaissance without looking at how each influenced religious thought. In fact, the most significant difference between the Renaissance and the Middle Ages is "where God had previously been the centre, Man now takes this place" (Dresden 13). Man in now the focal point of the world and he is the "centre of all that is taking place" (12). The most "corrosive impact" (Cameron 73) that the Renaissance had on medieval Christianity came from the thinker who was as "devoutly, intelligently, and consciously committed to Christian faith as could be" (73). Erasmus took the humanists' textual criticism, moral values, and belief in education and applied them uncompromisingly to theology" (73). Another significant difference between the two movements is that the humanists "showed a fresh and, one might say, unprejudiced interest in ancient texts and that they had an almost insatiable curiosity about unknown interests"…

Humanism is an important subject that has been in existence, as a philosophy, since the Renaissance in the 1500's. Yet few know what humanism means, and what it refers to. This paper will provide definitions of humanism, as well as a brief history. With these in mind, thus, one is better prepared to then understand the philosophy and, if needed, apply it to daily life.

As a definition, humanism means, according to the Free Dictionary, any of four things:

as a philosophy, it signified "the denial of any power or moral value superior to that of humanity" as well as the rejection of religion in favor of a belief in the ability of humanity and its advancement through its own efforts;

it can also signify the philosophical position that "stresses the autonomy of human reason in contradistinction to the authority of the Church";

as a literary movement, as aforementioned, it…

Humanism in the Renaissance posited that everyone is worthy of an equal chance, and even though peasants were not the socioeconomic equal of the wealthy, peasants were human and deserving of an equal opportunity. Humanism in fact was an attempt "…to resurrect and emulate the literature and art of the ancient Greeks and Romans," Neil Haughton writes in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Renaissance painters emphasized the "positive attributes of their subjects, both physical and political," rather than "realistic interpretation" (Haughton, 2004).

As to the impact the Renaissance had on the founding of America, authors Richard Vetterli and Gary Bryner suggest that the American Revolution was "…less…the first political act of revolutionary enlightenment as the last great act of the Renaissance" (Vetterli, 1996, 14). In fact the authors say that the American founders were "civic humanists"; indeed, the beliefs, the attitudes and the character of the American founders "…could not…

Humanism: Summary

One can define humanism as a school of thought or belief system which connects to both the fields of philosophy and ethics and which places a focus on the power of the individualism. There are a range of different types of humanism, and modes of thought connected to humanism, along with different intellectual and religious movements connected to humanism. All of these elements are partly responsible for making the definition of the term unclear.

In certain respects, the development of humanism was a reaction to the dissatisfaction of many experts with behaviorism. The school of thought surrounding humanism was in many ways the consequences which developed as so many psychologists just couldn't agree with many of the pillars of behaviorism. "Many psychologists did not accept the behaviorists' view that humans were governed by stimuli and responses, with no will of their own to change their behavior" (Pastorino &…

In one portrait of a Renaissance man, the aristocrat's musical instruments are placed alongside his various scientific instruments, books, and weapons (Arkenberg 2002). Eventually, in spite of "some of the obscure, antiquarian concerns of humanist engagement with the music of the classical past…music came to be thought of not as a branch of mathematics" but as an art ("The Renaissance," Free Encyclopedia, 2009). Humanism shifted the analytical understanding of music fully into the realm of the expressive, fine arts. There was renewed interest in the relationship between music and words and music's ability to express human emotion, versus analyzing the mathematician Pythagoras' notion of the 'music of the planetary spheres' ("The Renaissance," Free Encyclopedia, 2009).

At the beginning of the century, polyphonic music still dominated the Latin masses and motets of sacred music. Because these styles of music contained several simultaneous melodies polyphony tended to deemphasize individual voices, words, and…

The Catholic Church was forced to react and respond to the Protestant Reformation. This can be seen in the music of Palestrina. The Council of Trent resolved to eliminate the use of secular and ornate music during masses, which it saw as part of the 'worldly excesses' condemned by Protestants. Palestrina composed masses with a "purer, more restrained style" (Sherrane 2008). Palestrina brought forth a resurgent interest in plainsong, "each with its own profile and crystalline line," and allowed more individual voices to be distinguished, although this can be seen as actually reflecting a secular musical trend of the Renaissance, namely the interest in setting words to music in chansons and madrigals (Sherrane 2008).

Along with the development of the printing press, other notable technical innovations of the era were the creation of different musical instruments, including keyboards such as the clavichord, harpsichord and organ and the use of the…

Humanism, Absolutism, Power and Style

Read the following excerpt from an article, then discuss the three questions below the excerpt. Then respond to 3 members below. Post comments on what they have to say.

In an article in Psychology Today published on September 01, 2008, Hara Estroff Marano writes:

It's tempting to think that style is a new invention, open to us only now because we particularly value self-expression, and an extraordinary range of possibilities for doing so is available to us. But Joan DeJean, a professor of French language and culture at the University of Pennsylvania, contends that style has its well-shod feet firmly planted in the seventeenth century; it was the deliberate creation of Louis XIV of France, the Sun King. He was, she says in The Essence of Style, history's greatest exemplar of it.

DeJean sums up the style that Louis created in a word -- sparkle.…

Humanistic and Exestential Therapyies

Humanistic Existential Theories

Strengths and limitations of humanistic and existential theories

Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, there was an increasing emphasis on new theories of the human personality and on ways of treating psychological disorders that offered alternatives to conventional psychodynamic, Freudian theory and the deterministic behaviorism of Skinner. Both humanistic and existential theories offered an alternative perspective. "They are united by an emphasis on understanding human experience and a focus on the client rather than the symptom. Psychological problems (including substance abuse disorders) are viewed as the result of inhibited ability to make authentic, meaningful, and self-directed choices about how to live" (Brief interventions, 1999). In humanistic and existentialist thought, there is a unity of philosophical speculation about how to enable the client to live a meaningful life.

Humanistic theories of psychology stress the fundamentally 'good' nature of all human beings. All…

Humanism

The term Humanism can mean a number of things. For example, in regard to literature, it can mean that a person has devotion to the humanities or to the literary culture. However, in a religious sense, Christian Humanism would mean a more human-oriented Christianity, as opposed to a spiritual faith and would hold an expectation of man's philosophic self- fulfillment within the framework of Christian principles. The bottom line is Humanism is based on man's input. "...Humans are responsible for the state of the world; we created the beauty and the ugliness of the human condition. e can take credit for the things that go right and we must take responsibility for the things that go wrong." (The Essence of Humanism) Thus, when we attempt to define Humanism, we need to be specific as to the direction our terminology is to lead. This report will focus on Religious Humanism…

This work provided an intensive discussion historical forces that were to lead to modern humanism but also succeeds in placing these aspects into the context of the larger social, historical and political milieu. .

Online sources and databases proved to be a valid and often insightful recourse area for this topic. Of particular note is a concise and well-written article by Stephen eldon entitled Secular Humanism in the United States. This article provides a well-structured overview of the main issues in the development of secular humanism. It also provides insight into the influence of secular humanism in the United States.

An online article that is especially pertinent in terms of the consequences of the rise of secular rationality in an ideological sense is The Great Scandal (part 1) Christianity's Role in the Rise of the Nazis by Gregory Paul. This article also adds to the complexity of the debate about…

Picture Analysis
The two works were likely completed after the Black Death, as they were both Florentine artists influenced by Giotto, who died at the end of the 14th century. The two works echo Giotto’s style in that there is a distinct rupture between the lifelike representations and the Byzantine style that had preceded them. Byzantine art tended to be more symbolic and less concerned with realism. Here, in each of these Florentine works, one sees a good degree of humanistic representation, which Giotto helped to usher in and that would come to roaring to the fore during the Renaissance.
Each of these works are religious in nature: the one is a triptych—three paneled painting featuring elements of the Gospel—such as the Incarnation and the death and crucifixion of Christ; the other one is Christ the King, flanked by angels. Both of these works would likely have been located in…

As these ideas, become standard for creating a new genre that can speak to the audience in different ways. Therefore, humanism and its impact on the music of the Renaissance period would serve as way of highlighting a shift that was taking place in art and society, with the music reflecting these ideals.

ibliography

"Humanism." Dictionary. Last modified 2010. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism

"Music from the Renaissance." Columbia University. Last modified 2010. http://www.fathom.com/course/10701021/session1.html

"The Renaissance." J. Rank. Last modified 2010. http://arts.jrank.org/pages/5582/Renaissance.html

ova, Russell. Russia and Western Civilization. Armonk: Sharpe, 2003.

uelow, George. A History of aroque Music. loomington: Indiana University, 2004.

Kim, Hyun. Humanism and the Reform of Sacred Music. urlington: Ashgate, 2008.

Mayernik, David. "Prices of Renaissance Approach." Humanist Art, last modified November 6, 2006.http://www.humanistart.net/renaissance/renaissance.htm

Morris, Terrance. Europe and England. New York: Routledge, 1998.

Roden, Timmy. "Fourteenth Century Music." Analogy for Music in Western Civilization. oston: Schirmer, 2010.

Chicago Format. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/

"Humanism."…

Secular Humanism

We live in a world that is so dictated by religious politics. eligion has seemingly become a defining characteristic of who we are. Yet, there are many who choose to free themselves from limited notions of religious doctrine. Many believe in what is known as secular humanism, where the human is at the center of each of our lives, not a religion or God. Secular humanism is a branch of humanism that focuses not on mans connection with God as the primary origin of life, unlike other branches of humanism (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011). Here, the human being is the center of each individual's life and not a God or religion in this perspective humans originate much like other animals, their evolution and existence does not depend on a religion. The human identity is just another biological identity. According to the research, "secular Humanism is an attempt to…

Secular Humanism and Christianity

The first thing to remember about Secular Humanism is that it does not have a creed -- in fact, it rejects them: the Nicene Creed of the early Christian Church, for example, would not be believed by a Secular Humanist, for their religion is science. Secular Humanists have no defined beliefs concerning the origin of the human race, because they have seen no empirical data that is convincing enough to prove anything one way or another: some may believe in evolution and some may even believe in a Creator. Secular Humanists believe in the right to free inquiry (whether "ecclesiastical, political, ideological, or social") (Stevens et al. 2011).

Identity, therefore, is subjective and follows for the most part in the tradition of modern philosophical thought: humanism, after all, truly "exploded" in the West following the Renaissance and became the skeptic's preferred system of belief. Identity is…

Secular humanism/Christianity

Secular Humanism and Christianity

Secular humanism, a worldview that celebrates man's capacity for rationality, suggests that the scientific disciplines explain the origin of the universe and life on Earth. Humanists embrace the scientific method and critical thought as tools used to describe the beginnings of humanity (Kurtz, 2002). In this worldview, man's sense of identity is drawn from his surroundings. This includes the family, the local community and society as a whole. Humanists believe that identity is realized once one accepts and embraces one's place in the world. For the secular humanist, the issue of identity is closely tied to man's ultimate purpose. In short, it is the realization of one's personal potential and the use of that potential to better one's surroundings. Under humanism, morality is not so easily divided into a battle between the forces of good and evil.

As with the issue of origin, humanists…

Humanism takes the position that the human intellect is sufficient to deduce moral principles and that all human beings have the same natural right to dignity and personal autonomy.

The humanistic perspective does not absolutely reject the underlying principles of psychoanalytical theory, but places more focus on conscious self-reflection than on any assumption that the roots of all human conduct is necessarily a function of repressed trauma, sexual urges, and unresolved psychological conflicts. Humanism also rejects anthropocentrism in that it does not consider human life to be different in kind from other biological life forms, but only different in degree of development and complexity.

Existentialism:

Existentialism rejects many of the same concepts as humanism in the realm of religious or supernatural sources of human morality. Whereas humanists start with an assumption that human beings are inherently good and that the prosperity of human societies is necessarily good, existentialism recognizes no…

Renaissance Humanism

y nature, Humanists believed that the ancient teachings of Greeks and Romans were a solid foundation for intellectual pursuits and social philosophy.

During the Renaissance the average man found himself turning away from a life that was governed by medieval Christian restrictions, and welcoming classical literature and paganistic views that paved the way to a more secular life and view.

The return to favor of the pagan classics stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression.... Expansion of trade, growth of prosperity and luxury, and widening social contacts generated interest in worldly pleasures, in spite of formal allegiance to ascetic Christian doctrine (Kreis, 2002)."

The Renaissance was a time where many great humanists, like Desiderius Erasmus, and Niccolo Machiavelli encouraged their fellow man to embrace the classics and venture into intellectual independence. Erasmus was…

Apologetics Application Paper: Secular Humanism
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. – The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no gods. – Secular Humanists

I. Introduction

Although the epigraphs above do not reflect the entire arguments in support of their respective oppositional positions, they do capture the essence of the specific argument between Christians and secular humanists concerning the centrality of religious beliefs for the human condition. Indeed, since time immemorial, humankind has sought spiritual solace, guidance and redemption but it has only been relatively recently that this fundamental worldview has been challenged by human secularism which holds that there is no god and that human beings possess the natural gifts to manage their affairs just fine, thank you. Human secularism gained significant impetus as a result of innovations in scientific and medical technologies that have further reinforced the notion that people can take care of themselves without a…

Renaissance humanism refers to a period of history where there was a move away from the ideas of State and religion as the basis of society and a move towards human experience and interaction. It was a rebirth in that it rejected the ideas of the Middle Ages and reinvented the ideas of the ancient philosophers. The basis of it was a return to the study of the humanities which included music, art, poetry, science, and virtue. The one thing that underlined both the ideas of the ancient philosophers and the ideas of the Renaissance humanists was that the importance of humans lay in their ability to interact as individuals with the world around them and extract meaning from it. Man himself became the measure of all things.

It is first worth noting that the humanist ideas were the ideas of scholars. For this reason, much emphasis was put on…

Masaccio, Fra Angelico, and Filippino Lippi

The Renaissance was a dynamic time in which religion, artwork, and new styles, thoughts and concepts regarding perspective and expression intertwined and impacted one another. The effect was an explosion of new talent, new advancements in painting, and new horizons achieved. This paper will show how this was achieved by examining three works from three influential Renaissance painters -- Masaccio, Fra Angelico and Filippino Lippi.

Masaccio

Masaccio's The Tribute Money (ca. 1420) is a perfect illustration of the complex formula of Renaissance religious symbolism and naturalistic beauty that characterized the works of art at this time. It tells the narrative story found in Matthew 17:24-27 in which Jesus and His disciples come to Capernaum and are told that they must pay the tribute. Jesus asks Simon Peter whether the children of the king or strangers pay the tribute. Peter answers that strangers pay it.…

Sartre’s Existentialism
The fundamental point of Sartre’s (1946) lecture entitled “Existentialism is a Humanism” is that according to the French philosopher there is no God and this is what makes existence the precursor to essence. Man is born and lives and defines himself along the way or at the end in looking back at who he was and what he accomplished. Because there is no God, there is no set of rules of guide or goal driving or compelling man in the universe. Man has to determine his own course of action while simultaneously realizing that he is responsible for his action and also for guiding the fate of humanity. By “fashioning myself,” as Sartre (1946) puts it, “I fashion Man.” Sartre argues in his lecture that Christians opposed his philosophy of existentialism because it was immoral and thus pessimistic, but Sartre contended that it was neither. This paper will…

Freud and the existentialists are too pessimistic about human nature? Are humanistic psychologists closer to the truth, or too optimistic?

According to Freud, all desire is a form of displacement. First, the young boy desires his mother. However, unable to realize this desire because of societal conventions, he shifts the focus of his affection to another woman and tries to become like his father instead and find a substitute mother/woman. Similarly, the young girl shifts her desire for a penis onto a male, which becomes her way of 'having' a penis. Both developmental trajectories result in the child similarly never having the thing he or she truly wants. However, this form of repression is necessary to prevent incest and repression of all kinds is required for human society to function. For Freud, society is an inevitable series of compromises: the id (and the ego, which satisfies the id's desires) is…

Humanism:

The idea of humanism started in Italy in the 14th Century and thrived throughout the 15th Century. During this period, Italians placed a significant emphasis on education and increasing knowledge, particularly that of the classical ancient times. The Italians also promoted the exploration of human potential, desire to excel, and the devotion to civic responsibility and moral duty. The link between humanism and education and culture appealed to people of high status to an extent that the idea of humanism had its greatest influence on the elite and powerful individuals ("15th Century Italy," n.d.). Given its impact on the then philosophy, the ideas of humanism permeated art from the enaissance onwards.

The ideas of humanism permeated art from the enaissance onwards because of the greatest impact of humanism on the elite and powerful individuals who had the ability to commission art. Actually, the enaissance was a by-product of the…

The Donations of Constantine were in fact a fraud - a fact that could only have been revealed through the subjecting of the "original" document to unbiased evaluation. Yet Leonardo Bruni, much more than Valla, deserves the credit for shaping the modern idea of history. Advancing on the style and technique of such Classical authors as Herodotus and Thucydides, Bruni developed a more modern, and scientific approach to the subject. Though not all of his writings can be taken as shining exemplars of the new commitment to accuracy and truth, Bruni at his best, charted new territory for historical scholarship.

Bruni's monumental Historiarum Florentini Populi Libri XII (hereafter Historiae) is often singled out as an exemplary work, one that set the whole enterprise of history writing on a new plane.... Bruni destroys the legends surrounding the founding and early history of Florence, and then recasts the story on the basis…

Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theory

Psychodynamic & Humanistic Theory

A seminal study on the personality trait differences of therapists practicing with different theoretical orientations is an interesting place to begin this compare and contrast discussion. Tremblay, et al. (1986) administered the Personality Orientation Inventory to 90 male and 90 female psychotherapists who self-designated and were equally distributed in groups designated as behavioral (BEH), psychodynamic (PSY), and humanistic (HUM). Interestingly, the study suggested that a core therapist personality exists and that further distinction can be achieved through consideration of the patterns of personality that were associated with theoretical orientation. The caveat was that the patterns associated with theoretical orientations were characterized more by overlapping traits than unique traits. Of the three theoretical categories, the HUM group exhibited the most unique traits: they were more flexible, more accepting of personal aggression and expressing feelings in action, and differed in their development of intimate…

Daiso Strategic Alignment

Humans are constantly reasserting beliefs in their own skills and abilities. Without question humans constantly give themselves undue credit while ignoring other factors contributing to the individuals overall behavior. This occurs constantly in work environments, social circles and governments around the nation. Such is the case of humanism or the belief that humans are of prime importance irrespective of divine or supernatural intervention. According to Flo Wineriter, president of the humanists of Utah, "Humanists believe that moral values are neither divinely revealed nor the special property of any religious tradition, that they must be found by humans through the use of their natural reason, and that our beliefs about what is right or wrong in human behavior must be constantly subjected to the deepest reflection in light of our evolving understanding of our nature and the world in which we live (What is Humanism, 2012)." This belief…

Olmec

Although scientists found artifacts and art objects of the Olmecs; until this century they did not know about the existence of the Olmecs. Most of the objects which were made by this community were associated with other civilizations, such as Mayan, Toltec or Chichimecan. The Olmec lived between 1600 B.C. And 1400 B.C. In South Mexico. The name of this tribe comes from an Aztec word "ollin" which means "land of rubber."

At first they ate fish and they later start to farm, and that made it possible for them to "develop the first major civilization in Mesoamerica." (The Olmec Civilization) Thanks to the steady food supplies the Olmec population grew and some came to have other occupations. "Some became potters or weavers. Others became priests or teachers." (Ibidem) Once the population grew, so did their farming villages which developed into cities. The present-day city of San Lorenzo was…

25. How does New Age spirituality differ from that of Eastern mysticism?

Although the New Age readily embraces Eastern mysticism, it diverges from the old Eastern traditions because the New Age is more of a "hybrid spirituality," (131). The New Age combines Eastern and estern mystical beliefs. Eastern religions are not tailored for the modern world so the New Age mutates Eastern traditions to best suit the needs of the modern lifestyle.

26. How is paganism related to the New Age movement?

Paganism is integrally related to the New Age movement. Evidence of this can be found on any New Age bookstore shelf. The New Age movement is not necessarily demonic, as many modern witches do not believe in Satan, but neo-pagans assert a belief in a Goddess. Many New Agers support pre-Christian pagan beliefs and shamanism as well.

27. How does the eastern element of New Age spirituality contrast…

Botticelli's Mythological Paintings

The paintings done by different artists exemplify the influences that they have had throughout their life. The style and topics chosen for the artwork are two of the major elements of any painting. In Sandro Botticelli's work, the topics chosen for the painting are that he was influenced by the Renaissance Neoplatonism, coupled by the Medici Humanism all presented in his work in various ways.

Sandro Botticelli one of the great Italian masters of art demonstrated a preference for spirituality in his scenic patterns and portraits that were a reaction against the conceptual realism of Masaccio. His reaction was to introduce the elements of Gothic art which were shown through sentiment, passion, ornamental styles that used myths of the past creating allegory's and symbolic images, later combined with the Medici humanism. The Medici family, were the Renaissance patrons of Florentine art who changed the era of art…

With the decline of the Church, other religious movements emerged dominant among Renaissance thinkers and followers, which included the movement of Protestantism, and later on, Reformation. Under the Protestantism movement, reformed Catholic churches established their own assembly, disassociating from the Catholic Church to form their own religious organization. Protestantism, in fact, preceded the Protestant Reformation, which culminated the Renaissance movement in the 16th century. Under the Protestant Reformation, socio-economic changes were put into place, which involved primarily the transfer of power from the Church to the civil society/citizenry. The Reformation gave birth to a more democratic, independent society, wherein people or the citizens are given more voice in decision-making concerning civil society. Primarily, decentralization of social, economic and political power took place because of the Reformation.

Scientific development became one of the most important areas that developed from the Renaissance. Apart from promoting humanism and intellectual thought, expressed through artworks,…

The children do not see a template of moral fiber in the structure of the family, are certainly not learning it at school, and therefore have no basis for any type of ethic or morals other than the secular humanist -- "it depends" and "if you don't hurt anyone" viewpoint. The secular humanist, though, espouses that there are moral values that can be ascribed without God:

. . . The moral consequences of believing the universe not to be guided by a personal god to whom petitionary prayer can be addressed are huge. That is why it is so inadequate to call oneself solely an atheist; one needs some sort of description for what motivates one's behavior afterwards (Cooke in Kurtz, 2010).

And, reading this, one might forgive Al and Peg if they at least had a moral view; but that is the issue, they do not, which causes the…

" ("Selections from the Prince" 281) What this shows, is that those leaders who engage the citizens in conquered territories by allowing them to maintain their laws will perceive the Prince to be weak. In order to rule effectively, the Prince must show that he is a strong leader. This is significant, because it highlights how the ideal leader is: someone who will show what they mean through actions. Once this take place, the conquered citizens of the Prince will have respect for his rule and policies.

This has caused debate as to if the ideas of Machiavelli are more humanist or from a realist perspective. This is challenging, because he shows the importance of having a strong central government that will protect the general public. However, the tactics that he advocates using to achieve this objective are: questionable at best.

As a result, Machiavelli is not a humanist, where…

The first principle of existentialism is subjectivity, in the sense that existence is subject to every man's desire. There are things which man can not control in his life, but he can assume his past and change himself if what he is does not correspond to his scale of values. Man is the only creator of himself and therefore, his own possessor. Which also makes him the only one who is responsible for his life. Subjectivity is to be understood from this perspective

However, the concept under discussion is a bit wider. It also refers to the fact that human nature is a limit for the human. People can not go beyond their own nature and capacity to build the world and ultimately themselves. When creating himself, man will obey certain criteria. Naturally, he will want for these criteria to be universal. That is, while man has the power to…

Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre on Existentialism and Humanism

The Essentials of Essentialism

Martin Heidegger's philosophical opus is both deep and complex and a comprehensive examination of it here would be impossible. However it is possible to provide an overview of his essential teachings - of the essential aspects of his essentialism. Doing so will allow us, in later sections, to explore his criticisms of Jean-Paul Sartre's far more famous version of existentialism as well as to examine the ways in which - despite Heidegger's criticism of Sartre - the two are in many ways the same.

Heidegger, like all modern philosophers (and possibly the ancient ones as well), incorporated the work of a number of earlier thinkers into his own formulation of existentialism and his understanding of the nature of reality of the place of humans in the world. As an existentialist, Heidegger believed in a philosophy that was…

) and towards the more practical needs for Aryan survival.

c. hy did a growing number of Germans support Hitler and the Nazi Party in the years leading up to his appointment as chancellor?

There are many arguments to this question, but one that surfaces more often than others focuses on economics and self-preservation. The German people were humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles -- their military and economic system had been stripped away, their debt unbearable, and their economy was being controlled by other countries. The ideas of National Socialism were attractive to many: unification of the German Volk, reestablishing the German lands as a country dedicated to certain ideals, focusing on ethnic and linguistic similarities, the overthrow of Versailles, the idea of German self-determination, lebensraum (room for Germans to live, grow and prosper), and an improvement over the crippling inflation and economic woes of the eimar Government, seen…

The already shaky relationship between the Qatar state and Iranian society was further undermined by the Western exploitation of Iranian resources during the second half of the nineteenth century.

From 1918 until 1921 "British subsidies kept the government afloat, and British military and administrative advisers attempted to reorganize Iran's army and to manipulate the various political factions within the country to British advantage" (Cleveland, 185)*. When Britain added insult to injury by offering Iran a loan in exchange for exclusive advisory privileges, anti-imperial demonstrations broke out in several cities. Widespread discontent grew further. The Qatar government was regarded as ineffective and pro-British. A determined military commander finally took action and put a stop to the chaos.

Reza Khan used the political climate to advance from the position of commander and chief of the army in 1921 to that of the shah of Iran in 1925. His election overthrew the Qatar…

e can consider 'The School of Athens' as a 'visualization of knowledge.'" in addition to Plato and Aristotle, Euclid and Pythagoras are present among others. Lahanas even suggests that the painting may be a reproduction of Plato's Academy. This concept would emphasize a commitment to learning, as well as an interest in antiquity and classical learning. The architecture depicted is a "modification of Bramante's first design for St. Peter (Lahanas).

The combination of classical scholars, emphasis on learning, and suggestion of St. Peter's draws together all of the relevant characteristics of the Renaissance. First, Raphael most obviously alludes to the Renaissance's interest in antiquity with the identifiable Greek scholars. That two of the most prominent classical philosophers are prominent, suggesting not only their importance, but also the importance of the classical period. In addition, the situation in which the philosophers are located places an emphasis on the importance of learning…

Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living (rdg.uk)." It is for this reason that a critical examination of our most fundamental beliefs about truth and reality whether right or wrong becomes an important undertaking (rdg.uk). The examination of major life perspectives challenges as well as helps us to better establish many of our own assumptions about life (rdg.uk). We should all be concerned with how different views of the world clash or fit together, and with how the different perspectives (moral, scientific, religious, metaphysical, and personal) may be reconciled (rdg.uk). It is with these ideas in mind that this paper undertakes an examination of three major life perspectives, those of: naturalism, humanism, and theism (rdg.uk).

According to naturalism, heredity and environment influence and determine human motivation and behavior (naturalism.html). Thus, if an artist wishes to depict life as it really is, he or she must be rigorously deterministic in…

They felt that they Church was getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. And as a result, there were no great protests when the King broke away from the Church, because many felt that Henry would ease up on taking money from them. Henry knew of the Catholic Church's unpopularity and used this to his advantage (Truman, 2009).

Christian Humanism played a large role in the development of the English Reformation as it also did with Calvinism, which emphasized the rule of God over all things (Belief system within Christianity: Calvinism, 2004). Both of these were very similar to the ideas Lutheranism, in which each individual was seen as responsible for their own fate. There were several other heretic groups that were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for their beliefs; these were the aldenses and the Albigenses. These were a couple of groups of Christians who would not…

Ray also believed that Hollywood presented a world that was completely foreign and at odds with the reality of life in India. hy, then, had so many previous Indian filmmakers attempted to copy the Hollywood style? The result could only be failure. It was for this reason that Ray decided to turn his back on the Hollywood aesthetic altogether - and the result was Pather Panchali. Rather than the stylistic gloss that Hollywood coats its product with, Ray allowed a significant degree of "dirt" in to his film as a way of arguing with the dominant aesthetic.

In doing so, Ray purposefully chose a "rambling" novel to adapt for his first film. "The script," he later explained, "had to retain some of the rambling quality of the novel because that in itself contained a clue to the feel of authenticity: life in a poor Bengali village does ramble" (Ray 33).…

Jean Paul Sartre and Simone De Beauvoir on Freedom, Being-for-Others, And Sartrean Despair

Simone de Beauvoir and JP Sartre were two famous existentialists that converged and diverged on various concepts. These included the existentialist concepts of freedom, being-for-others and transcendence or despair. Their converged and divergences will be addressed in this essay.

Sartre was one of the most famous existentialists of all times. For him, existence did not base itself on an ethos of God-ordained morality nor did it have any transcendental meaning. ather meaningfulness of life -- or liberty / freedom -- depended on the meaning that one arbitrarily accorded life and he claimed that man is "what he makes of himself," or in other words "in the end one is always responsible for what is made of one" In this way, Sartre's philosophy integrated both optimism and despair: optimism in the belief that one can resolutely make something…

Greek Concept to Movie Troy

Ancient mythology as never ceased to amaze and fascinate its readers and followers. Especially Egyptian and Greek mythology, having followers everywhere; in the current times it has found a new fan, that is the movie making business, with a special interest in Greek mythology. Nothing is better than watching your favorite characters brought up to life and actually see them doing all the things we had previously only imagined them doing. One such captivating movie is 'troy' based on the Greek Trojan war starring Brad Pitt. Various Greek concepts were shed light in this movie, which will be discussed, in relation to the movie.

The first concept is Fate, since in Greek mythology fate does not just happen. The gods make things happen, in their own engineered ways, and interfere to make things happen on their own account. Then there is MOIA, which means that…

Philosophy

While there is plenty to criticize in the work of Descartes, Locke, and Hume, one cannot justifiably claim that Jose Vasconcelos criticisms of traditional Western views on the nature of knowledge apply to these theorists if only because Vasconcelos' criticisms do not really apply to anything, as his criticisms are largely based on straw men. This is not to say that traditional Western views on the nature of knowledge should be free from criticism, but rather that the problems with these traditional views are more fundamental than Vasconcelos realizes, to the point that Vasconcelos suffers from many of these same issues. Essentially, both Vasconcelos and the previously mentioned authors suffer from a simply ignorance regarding the functioning of the human brain, the nature of consciousness and memory, and the evolutionary processes by which organisms and ideas evolve, with this ignorance born out of an implicit or explicit maintenance of…

Jasmine University School of Nursing has worked diligently to develop a new curriculum. Even though the faculty examined the advantages of an upper-division nursing program, they decided to continue with their 4-year integrated curriculum. This new curriculum is based on phenomenology, humanism, and feminism, with a strong focus on community-based nursing while hospital-based practice remains a major component of the curriculum. The introduction of the new curriculum will be coupled with a 50% increase in the class size i.e. from 100 to 150. The faculty faces a significant problem in clinical placements in relation to phasing out the current curriculum and introducing the new one. The introduction of the new curriculum implies that 100 fourth-year students and 75 second-year students will require clinical placements on the same units on the same days in the fall semester.

In light of the problems with clinical placements that will be brought by the…

In that same year as well, Portuguese ships reached China, re-establishing direct trade for the first time since its termination 150 years prior. The Chinese were particularly eager to purchase Spanish silver from the Andes, which the Portuguese provided in exchange for Chinese silk, highly coveted throughout Europe. The Portuguese even went as far as Japan, where they established contact briefly before that country's isolation. Expeditions were also sent to conquer Malacca and explore Borneo in 1511 and 1524.

Odd as it may seem, the Portuguese were the first to establish viceroys to govern over their colonies in India. Beginning under King Manuel I, the Portuguese presence in India was cemented by the appointment of the first viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, who governed from 1505-08. His capital was established at Cochin, where he waged wars against a number of Indian rulers for control of commerce in the region. His successor…

Indeed the Germans, the French, and the rest looked back to an antiquity in which their ancestors had been subjugated by the legions. Nothing is more remarkable therefore than the rapid and irrevocable penetration of Italian ideas and practices among the "barbarians," as the Italian writers referred to them, some of whom were currently invading the peninsula." (Wiener, 124) it's also important to note that influence of antique classicism typical for Italian architecture of the 14-16th centuries is not observed in the north. Classical style of Italian cathedrals and churches, typical for Ancient Greek and oman pagan temples is usually not observed in buildings of enaissance epoch in Germany, Britain or France, where architecture was influenced by Gothic style, which got earlier spread in Europe.

eformation and Counter eformation

The spread of Protestantism over Europe, which is considered to be one of the most historically significant achievements of enaissance and…

role of Islam as a unifying force

Perhaps more than any other religion in the world, Islam has put to work its less obvious sense in order to unify the peoples sharing the same belief. Through its art, its common language and its judicial system that has the Koran teachings at its base, Islam was a unifying force among the Arabic peoples of the Arabic Peninsula, Northern Africa and the Middle East.

There is a short discussion I would like to address here and that is to identify the differences between culture and civilization. This will help us see how religion LO is included in this set of concepts. From my point-of-view, religion LO can be considered an element of civilization through its cultural component. If we exclude Marxist ideology that argue that civilization is but a certain level that culture has attained and make no distinction between the two,…

Charles Van Doren has concluded that the Copernican Revolution is actually the Galilean Revolution because of the scale of change introduced by Galileo's work.

The technological innovation of the Renaissance era started with the invention of the printing press (the Renaissance). Even though the printing press, a mechanical device for printing multiple copies of a text on sheets of paper, was first invented in China, it was reinvented in the West by a German goldsmith and eventual printer, Johann Gutenberg, in the 1450s. Before Gutenberg's invention, each part of metal type for printing presses had to be individually engraved by hand. Gutenberg developed molds that permitted for the mass production of individual pieces of metal type. This permitted a widespread use of movable type, where each character is a separate block, in mirror image, and these blocks are assembled into a frame to form text. Because of his molds, a…

Botticelli's Birth Of Venus And Duccio's Maesta

The representation of women in estern art has changed throughout history, and for much of estern history this representation was oriented around the dominant female figure in contemporary society; that is, Mary, mother of Jesus. However, the gradual shift away from a dominantly monotheistic cultural hegemony seen in the Renaissance and eventually the Enlightenment brought with it new (and the case of this study, old) means of representing women beyond the confinements and discourse of the Madonna and Child. By comparing and contrasting Duccio di Buoninsegna's Virgin and Child Enthroned Amidst Angels and Saints (which is the main altarpiece of the artist's Maesta) with Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, one is able to see how the changing cultural standards which came about during the shift from the conservative, Eastern-influenced Late Gothic art of Duccio to the freer, more naturalistic art of Botticelli's…

The Renaissance gave them the opportunity to explore and create without restraint. As a result of this, learning took on an entirely different meaning in that it included the human experience as a significant aspect of knowledge, increasing the desire to know more.

A result of a desire to learn resulted in an invigorated self-confidence that only reinforced the belief that mankind had the power within him to understand all things, including nature. This new outlook on life and mankind resulted in an expansion of knowledge, especially in literature and science. Renaissance artists broadened their skills by using oil paints and incorporating realism to their work. Leonardo di Vinci is perhaps one of the most prominent artists of this time. His work illustrates the new trains of thought that mankind was taking. Another artist that cannot be ignored when mentioning the Renaissance is Michelangelo; a man whose art speaks volumes…

Art During Renaissance

The Evolution of Art During the Renaissance

The Renaissance period is defined as a cultural movement that spanned approximately from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe (rotton 2006, p. 6). This period in the history of art included the painting, decorative arts and sculpture of the period and for many was considered a reawakening or rebirth of historic and ancient traditions based on the classical antiquity and the inclusion of more recent developments by applications of contemporary scientific knowledge.

The Renaissance was seen as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the modern era. The period also marked a cognitive shift from religious perspectives to a more intellectual and social focus. Classical texts previously lost to European scholars became readily available and included science, drama, poetry, prose, philosophy, and new considerations…

" (2009) Oguejiofor states that there is no understanding "exept if there is misunderstanding, a negativity that beomes the originative instane of hermeneutis…" (2009)

Oguejiofor writes that Senghor's onept of negritude is entered on the misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the Afrian and his heritage, a situation that has sine imposed enormous burden on all aspets of his life." (Oguejiofor, 2009) Oguejiofor states that negritude has been desribed "…as a philosophy of soial ation" and states additionally that in the view of Senghor "negritude was 'a weapon of defense and attak and inspiration." (2009) Speifially Senghor sates that negritude is the "sum total of the values of the ivilization of the Afrian world, it is not raialism, it is ulture." (Oguejiofor, 2009)

Oguejiofor writes that negritude as a philosophy "has the advantage of 'reognizing the situatedness of our lived historiity as the proper objet of refletion for Afrian philosophi thought. (Salhi…

Per cio che, secondo che egli le mostrava, niun d' era che non-solamente una festa ma molte non-ne fossero, a reverenza delle quali per diverse cagioni mostrava l'uomo e la donna doversi abstenere da cos' fatti congiugnimenti, sopra questi aggiugnendo digiuni e quattro tempora e vigilie d'apostoli e di mille altri santi e venerd' e sabati e la domenica del Signore e la quaresima tutta, e certi punti della luna e altre eccezion molte, avvisandosi forse che cos' feria far si convenisse con le donne nel letto, come egli faceva talvolta piatendo alle civili."

The wife however is not duped by this and soon goes away with another man. The husband eventually dies, and the young widow remains with her lover. The pattern of the tricks in this story repeats itself many times throughout the Decameron: a character who tries to deceive another is eventually deceived in his turn. There…

Confucianism, Catholicism and Islam between 1450 and 1750.

Three major religions, located at diverse axes of the world, Catholicism, Confucianism, and Islam, were faced with similar problems and challenges in the years between 1450 and 1750. Catholicism encountered a militant Protestant Reformation in the shape of Martin Luther King that espoused religion whilst criticizing the Pope. Confucianism, in the shape of the renowned philosopher and politician Wang Vangming, grappled with a future that threatened to challenge its traditional learning and way of life whilst Wahhabism introduced fundamentalist religion into an Islam that had gradually become more secular and detached from the Koran-simulated way of life. The following essay elaborates on their individual problems and challenges.

Catholicism.

Luther's Protestantism effectively ended the many years of sole religious monopoly that the Catholic Church had on Europe. At the same time, Catholicism was also threatened by the new Humanism that tentatively insisted, first…

ethnological investigation and analysis, is centered on cultural and religious activity in a contemporary community situation. Essentially, the aim of this research was to observe various cultural and social behavior patterns as they pertain to religion and spirituality in society. Two faiths were observed over a period of time. A Western religious faith such as Catholicism was compared to an Eastern faith such as Buddhism.

This topic was chosen for a number of reasons. In the first instance religion is a central facet of all cultures and societies. The search for a larger and more existential meaning to life is a cultural trait that can be observed in every culture throughout human history. It is therefore a subject that is central to cultural life and which has enormous ramifications in terms of its influence on other dimensions of cultural activity.

However, religion per se is a very broad and somewhat…

Wollstonecraft & J.J. Rousseau

The influence of humanity and reason in the works of Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean Jacques Rousseau on education and women

The age of Enlightenment put forth the importance of humanism and reason, concepts that creates a balance between humanity's innate tendency to experience emotions while at the same time, cultivating a rational view of experiencing sensations and interactions around him/her. Indeed, discourses that were created and published in the 18th century reflected the use of reason in order to elucidate the nature of human beings. 'Enlightenment discourses,' in effect, provide an important insight into the humanism and reason that dwells inside the human mind.

These important concepts of the Enlightenment were shown in the works of Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean Jacques Rousseau. oth being proponents and believers of the principles reflective of the Enlightenment, they expressed their views of how humanism and reason influenced their position…

" However, osch's writings were by no means one-dimensional, for he addressed many universal aspects of life. Indeed, osch's versatility as a writer is reflected in his ability to write works of fantasy, political thought, biographies, history, social realism, and cultural commentaries. He also published several poems and short stories in Cuban and Dominican newspapers and magazines, and worked for a period of time as literary editor for the influential newspaper, Listin Diario.

The fact that Juan osch was, first and foremost, a humanist who was interested in all aspects of human interest and welfare is clearly reflected in his writings. for, osch did not merely dwell on the miserable plight of the rural poor, but also reflected on the materialism and hypocrisy of the upper classes. For instance, in La bella alma de don Damian (the eautiful Soul of Don Damian), osch depicts Don Damian's soul examining itself with…

It was founded on the knowledge that spurred during the Renaissance and has placed significance on rational thought and cultural emphasis, which was not present before.

Furthermore, with regards to the popularity of Baroque during this period, it is important to note that this style was able to combine the principles of science and the philosophies and doctrines of early Christianity, which has been very prominent in architectures built on such style. During the earlier period, the Renaissance, art was simpler and characterized by simple rhythms. With Baroque, however, a dynamic change has occurred, as art and architecture became more ostentatious and it has shown how art can move from the previous period (Saisselin).

The Scientific Revolution has presented a new perspective and shows a shift from the orthodox. It has also allowed the use of the past in order to create the future. In the field of arts, the…

Renaissance of Europe

The European Renaissance is characterized, in part, by the sweeping changes that took place with regards to religion, in particular, in the Catholic Church. The papacy was becoming increasingly corrupt during this time and was full of hypocrisy. This ultimately led to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. This paper will examine just how corrupt the church was at this time and how this led to its own downfall, thereby paving the way for people like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Erasmus to put forth new ways of thinking and advances in religion, science, and so on.

In 1500, corruption and hypocrisy in the Catholic Church were rampant. For example, indulgences were used as means of coercion and manipulation rather than for the original purposes they were intended. An indulgence is the full or partial remission before God of temporal punishment for sins that have been forgiven.…

enaissance refers to the rebirth and revival of art and architecture in the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy. The enaissance is fascinating to study and is still culturally significant even today because of the high level of artistic and architectural production that was able to be produced during this time. Thus, one of the fundamental reasons as to why this period was significant is directly connected to the fact that the works which were captured during this time continue to captivate the imagination of most people, and continue to impress and amaze. The enaissance is important not just because of the high level and innovation of work that was created, but because it demonstrated a higher level of intellectualism and understanding about the human condition that was manifested through art.

The enaissance is significant today, not merely because of the high level of art that was produced, but because…