The Pros And Cons Of Naturalism, Creationism And Existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophical theory that was developed by Nietzsche and many other philosophers in the 19th century. In the first four chapters of the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the protagonist and the narrator, Grendel tells a story of his adolescence. Like any teenager, Grendel encounters multitude of events which molds him into what he is; an existentialist. Through the use of diction, personification, and simile in the narration of Grendel, John Gardner illustrates the cause of Grendel’s existential outlook.

Fact is it’s de onliest thing God every made. He made nature and nature made everything else” (Hurston 64). This interchange speaks to Janie’s developing understanding of herself in relation to the world. Here, Sam and Lige contend about the connection amongst humanity and God and amongst themselves and their general surroundings. In present day terms, it is a talk of nature versus nurtur.

“Existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. The belief is that people are searching to find out who and what they are throughout life as they make choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook” (Clifton). Grendel’s

Instead the belief revolves around the idea that natural causes are sufficient to explain everything that exists in the

EVALUATION ESSAY Which two worldviews you have learned about are most at odds with one another? Why? In my opinion I feel that the two worldviews that I have learned that are most at odds with one another are Christian theism and Naturalism.

Sadava, Richard W. Hill, and Mary V. Price. Principles of Life. 2nd ed. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, 2014. Print.

Naturalism is a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Naturalism took place from 1890-1915. Some characteristics of Naturalism include: Survival of the fittest, violence (force vs. force), animal imagery, determinism, and taboo topics. Also, Naturalism is aimed at the lower class and is about the darker side of life. Ethan Frome is a novel written by Edith Wharton in 1911.

Existentialism The concept of existentialism has so many contradicting and difficult to grasp components that it is much easier to put in terms of philosophy at its most fundamental. Synonyms of philosophy include: thinking and reasoning, namely the understanding of nature and existence of a person. Although several versions of existentialism exist, there are no set themes that could possibly encompass them all. This philosophy is valid to an individualistic level, however, it does not hold up to modern society as a whole.

Social Darwinism is the result of applying Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution to human society, and one of the forefront Social Darwinists was none other than William Graham Sumner. In general, the concept of Social Darwinism has many pros such as “breeding” out weakness and disease, supporting the strong, and encouraging the development of a more advanced society. It also as many disadvantages, however, such as a smaller gene pool, hindering the weak, and controlling who gets to have children. Using the writings of both Darwin and Sumner, these pros and cons will be explored to prove that the negatives of Social Darwinism outweigh the positives. To begin, the first pro of Social Darwinism is the elimination of weakness and disease.

Imagine what would happen if we lived in a world where water was kept 8 feet off the ground and there was absolutely no way you could get it if you weren’t tall enough. Most likely, the short people would die off. The taller ones would multiply, and before long, instead of a population of people of all sizes, you would have a population of only tall people. Living things that are best suited, or adapted, to their environment survive and multiply. Those that are not, are unable to survive.

The argument Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, presents on existentialism helps to prove the foundation which is “existence precedes essence”. Existentialism is normally understood as an ideology that involves evaluating existence itself and the way humans find themselves existing currently in the world. For the phrase existence precedes essence, existence’s etymology is exsistere or to stand out while the term Essence means “being” or “to be” therefore the fundamental of existentialism, literally means to stand out comes before being. This can be taken into many different ideas such as individuals having to take responsibility for their own actions and that in Sartre’s case the individual is the sole judge of his or her own actions. According to him, “men is condemned to be free,” therefore “the destiny of man is placed within himself.”

What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment” (Frankl, p. 108). The meaning of life, when used as a general term, has a broad definition because of its ever-changing nature. However, the true definition of the meaning of life is supposed to be established on an individual basis. It’s the events going on in your personal life at that moment in time that defines what meaning is. “To put the question in general terms would be comparable to the question posed to a chess champion: ‘Tell me, Master, what is the best move in the world?’”

Man first exists without a purpose or definition, finds himself in the world and only then, as a reaction to the experience, defines the meaning of life.”. It means at first, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and only afterward define himself. We can only define ourselves after we faced a series of challenges. At first, we are nothing but as life goes on, we become something. It is easy to be alive indeed, but living a life is not as easy as that.

Furthermore, another example of faith playing a role in deciding if knowledge we acquire have purpose and meaning in our personal lives is the creation of the universe. For people, who put their faith into believing in God, it is shared knowledge that God is the creator of everything. In Genesis 1:1 verse 1 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surfaces of the water.”

The meaning of life is whatever we choose it to be. We are in control of given our life meaning, it 's all a matter of perspective. If you decided you want to live your life a certain way and that way makes you happy, then you 're given your life meaning. The meaning of life to me is just to live a healthy, happy, honest lifestyle.