The Meaning of Life through Subjectivity

The Meaning of Life through Subjectivity Humans are subjective because despite trying to stop affecting world that they are a part of, they are changing it. This relationship, which causes a change in the world through action, changes any objective view into a subjective one because they are influencing what a pure observer cannot. By trying to simply stop doing and merely observe, people attempt to reach a state of pure objectivity. This, however, becomes an impossible task once one considers that their mere existence is an act in and of itself. Meaning that the only way to become truly objective is to temporarily stop existing, observe purely in that non-existent state, and then resume existing within the world as a human being. To be able to even consider performing these impossible tasks is akin to being God. In total, it is impossible for a human being to achieve a state of non existence simply because the mere act of living causes one to become subjective due to the fact they have an influence on the world around them . While they are young, humans eventually reach a point when they become aware that their existences are enveloped in exclusivity. They see that their lives are filled with choices, forks in the road which make it apparent that whenever one chooses something, something else must be excluded. These choices can bring the pain of having to weigh between the options and the respective consequences, as well as coming to terms with the idea that one cannot have everything. Considering the human limitation of having to exclude one thing in order to gain another, people will always reach for a level of objectivity in their choices; they want to remove some of the pain and difficulty that they feel from having to make those choices by detaching themselves emotionally from the choices they have to make. Despite the truth of existence lying in subjectivity, there is a paradox shown here; that humans are almost preset to reach for objectivity despite the answer existing in the other direction: bey ond subjectivity. To reach the answer of life, one must first come to terms with the truth of existence. Kierkegaards existential truth is subjectivity; for a human to understand that subjectivity is the core of existence then enables them to pursue and eventually understand the answer to life. Subjectivity in itself is important to grasp as a human, and as a result, it also serves as a differentiation between the simple man and the wise man. If the wise man is being subjective, he knows that there is a difference between subjectivity and objectivity. However, the only indication that he is being completely subjective at a given point is that he objectively knows the difference between objectivity and subjectivity. This understanding allows him to grasp the concept of the answer to life while at the same time brings up the paradox of only being subjective when being objective. In contrast, if the simple man is being subjective, he is simply being subjective by point of impulse and would not be aware o f it. Thus the simple man cannot be considered to have reached the same existential truth as the wise man. To be wise is a curse as well as a blessing, for the paradox teaches him the importance of the existential truth, while at the same time, prevents him from reaching it. Given Kierkegaards belief that the existential truth is subjectivity, that all humans eventually become at least slightly objective and that people need to be slightly objective in order to be subjective, then a paradox presents itself. If a human cannot be subjective without being objective then this begs the question about whether or not a human reach a state of pure subjectivity. Within the World-Historical view, there is but a single objective truth to any individual event throughout history, but subjectivity shows a different, individual truth for every person viewing it. Seeing that people cannot objectively observe and think over the past (without first accomplishing the impossible task of becoming God-like), people are left to view the events themselves from the present, filling in the gaps between objective facts with subjective interpretations. These all compile to subjective truths; each being the truth, yet none being any more or less valid than the last. By being human, one is restricted by the world they have subjectively constructed; a world made with the subjective truths influenced by their own thoughts, feelings and experiences. However, as partially subjective existences in what can only be perceived as a purely subjective world, one must ask if human beings can really exist in the same world as anyone else and if the answer to that query chan ges the answer to life itself. This presents us with the final paradox; that in order to obtain the answer one must be an objective and static entity, but humans as a whole are subjective simply through existence. Were one to find the so-called answer to life, ones life would fundamentally change. However, as a direct result of finding that answer, this newly changed life is basically a new life in and of itself. This new life is at least slightly different from the old life and, as a result, has a new subjective truth to it. This effectively renders the previous answer worthless, perhaps having never existed to begin with. This in itself proves that the answer cannot be found in the constantly active life, but only in the static death where the constant, static world is unaffected by a person. Despite this, the answer holds no meaning after death and cannot be communicated to the living resulting in the same lack of truth. As a result, Ive found that Im unable to submit my answer to this lifelong assignment, and that to do so I would have to no longer be considered alive. I apologize and would like to request an extension; preferably to sometime in the late 2070s.

With Regret and Hope :: Love Letters Dating Email Relationships

Dear Anthony, It has taken me awhile to write this letter. Please read it with care and understand that much thought went into it. I miss the way we used to be. I wish with all my heart that there was some way we could go back to the days where your eyes beheld me as the most beautiful woman you had ever seen, when your heart felt more alive in my presence, when the thought of me kept you warm on a cold night. I still feel that way about you. I know that I am the one to blame for letting us die and for letting you down. I know that I messed up, the things that I did were wrong, and I wish that there were something that I could do to go back in time and undo them. I know what it's like to be hurt the way that I hurt you. It hurt me to see the pain that I caused you and not be able to do anything to make it better. Now here we are, together again, but it doesn't feel the same. I know you still care for me, and love me, but I wonder if you are ever going to forgive me. How do we get past the hurt? What can I do for you to forgive me, to let me into your heart again, to earn back your trust and once again feel the fullness of your love? I look back on all that I took for granted, and I wish that I had appreciated everything you offered me, and I know that if I had that back, I would work to keep it for forever. I wouldn't push it away like I did then. I would bask in every moment of your love. I want a chance to love you the right way, but I need you to let me in. The distance between us pulls at my heart. It is there even when I am in your arms. Yes, I have suffered for my sins, the greatest suffering I have ever known: feeling as if I have lost you and your love. I am asking that you forgive me. I remember a time when we kissed and touched each other for the sheer pleasure of it. How we loved to be next to each other and had to be next to each other. We couldn't wait until we could be together again.

George Orwells 1984 and Today Essay -- Television 1984 Freedom Essays

George Orwell's 1984 and Today TV rots the senses in the head! It kills the imagination dead! It clogs and clutters up the mind! It makes a child so dull and blind. He can no longer understand a fantasy, A fairyland! His brain becomes as soft as cheese! His powers of thinking rust and freeze! An excerpt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, By Roald Dahl, 1964 When George Orwell’s epic novel 1984 was published in 1949 it opened the public’s imagination to a future world where privacy and freedom had no meaning. The year 1984 has come and gone and we generally believe ourselves to still live in â€Å"The Land of the Free;† however, as we now move into the 21st Century changes brought about by recent advances in technology have changed the way we live forever. Although these new developments have seamed to make everyday life more enjoyable, we must be cautious of the dangers that lie behind them for it is very possible that we are in fact living in a world more similar to that of 1984 than we would like to imagine. In 1949 when Orwell’s novel was published, television was a relatively new invention. Fewer than 10% of the United States households had a television set in them and at this time programming was limited to mainly news-oriented shows. Many people believed that television would never surpass radio as the chief means of mass communication; they could not have been more incorrect. Presently 98% of the households in the United States have one or more televisions in them. What once was regarded as a luxury item has become a staple appliance of the American household. Gone are the days of the three channel black and white programming of the early years; that has been replaced by digital flat screen televisions connected to satellite programming capable of receiving thousands of channels from around the world. Although televisions and television programming today differ from those of the telescreens in Orwell’s 1984, we are beginning to realize that the effects of television viewing may be the same as those of the telescreens. The telescreens in 1984 served two purposes, surveillance and mind control. Unlike the televisions of our present day, the telescreens in 1984 also served as a device constantly monitoring the citizen’s actions by means of an integrated camera and microphone in addition to broadcasting continuous p... ...her say to us â€Å"No, I’m sorry I can’t do that right now, I’m watching my show.† Americans have ceased to live their own lives and have practically become slaves to their televisions and the corporations that stand behind them. Unlike the citizens of Oceania, we are able to make our own decisions. We can turn off our televisions; we can live our own lives and make our own experiences. We can learn about and do practically anything we want. Most of us do not take advantage of this freedom. In fifty years when my generation has become grandparents, what stories will we have to tell our grandkids? Will they really want to hear about that episode of Friends that we loved so much? Will we really have any knowledge or experiences worthwhile to tell them? Perhaps it won’t even matter. Perhaps our grandkids will be too interested in what they are watching on television to even want to listen to us. Yes we live in the â€Å"Land of the Free,† but until we really start taking advantage our freedom to the fullest and pull ourselves away from the television we are no better off than the citizens of Oceania and the telescreens that surround them as they toil on in their non-eventful lives.

Marketing Plan for Redbox Essay

Redbox is a DVD/Blu-Ray rental company which utilizes kiosk machines placed in convenient, high-traffic locations. The first Redbox kiosk was opened by McDonald’s in 2002. Redbox was later purchased by Coinstar, Inc. , and over the years, Redbox has rented over one billion movies and has grown to more than 27,000 locations in restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores nationwide. Redbox proves to be a very unique way to rent DVD’s and by the nature of Redbox’s rental process, most businesses would benefit from the increased traffic generated by having a kiosk machine at their location. This type of relationship proves to be a win-win situation for both Redbox and the businesses which are housing the kiosk machine. Redbox’s primary target market proves to be the busy, I don’t have time to visit Blockbuster or login to Netflix type of consumer. There kiosk machines are located in common shopping locations which lend themselves to the â€Å"lazy† consumer. Furthermore, Redbox is also targeting the casual movie watcher who isn’t necessarily intending on renting a movie. In a way Redbox has turned renting movies into an impulse item. As a result, Redbox provides consumers with a service never seen before and has emerged as one of the largest DVD rental chains in the world. Redbox’s marketing mix is simple, unique, and clever. They have successfully turned a shopping item into a convenience item. Times have changed since the first movie rental store, Magnetic Video, was opened during 1977 in Los Angeles, California. During that time home personal computers were barely seen and the internet was nowhere on the horizon, so movie rental stores with good customer service provided the consumer with knowledge about the movies they were interested in. However, in today’s fast moving, information crazed world, consumers can obtain better information on the fly with there Blackberry, iPhone, or any other internet ready handheld device. Obviously Redbox recognized that consumers generally already know what movies they want to watch and they do not need to visit a movie rental location to get these hot new DVD releases. Not only does Redbox provide a unique service, they provide it at a low cost at convenient locations. Most movie rental stores charge $4-5 to rent a new release for approximately 3 days, whereas Redbox provides a similar service for $1. 29 per night. This is extremely cheap considering most consumers watch their movie rental the same day they rent it. Furthermore, Redbox gets this low cost movie rental product to the consumer through a channel of distribution historically associated with snack foods and soda. By providing movie rentals through vending machines called kiosks located at shopping locations where consumers already go to shop, they have eliminated much of the costs associated with conventional movie rental stores and the need for consumers to make an additional stop just to rent a movie. Since Redbox’s inception, it has experienced enormous growth and profit, but they will need to evolve in order to get ahead of the curve. Although Redbox appears to have established themselves as a formidable competitor to Netflix and Blockbuster, they are facing a gruesome reality. The take-home movie rental business is rapidly losing ground to online streaming video directly to consumers’ homes via the internet. Netflix has already been providing this service for quite some time and both Redbox and Blockbuster are feeling the pressure. Blockbuster, Inc. has already declared bankruptcy and very well may close conventional brick and mortar locations entirely. Redbox will need to change their marketing strategy significantly in order to stay competitive. The industry is changing and Redbox will need to seriously consider providing a viable online streaming video service which can rival Netflix. I propose Redbox should cease all efforts in providing any more kiosk machines so they may focus most of their resources to providing the consumers with what they want, online streaming video. Netflix has already got a head start, but even they will not be an exclusive online service for a few more years. So, Redbox must follow the money if they plan to be in business in the next five years. On the other hand, Redbox also has a golden opportunity to gain a large market share in the gaming industry. Redbox needs to become the first and only company to offer video game rentals through vending machines. Redbox is poised to achieve this goal with little to no effort and with their only possible competitor in this area being Blockbuster, they are sure to make huge profits from offering this service. Redbox already has the distribution channels in place; all they need to do is make a smooth transition from offering DVD’s in the kiosks to offering games. This should be a tiered transition which coincides with their streaming video efforts. In other words, Redbox cannot simply remove DVD’s from the kiosks and replace them with games immediately. As Redbox begins to provide consumers with a reliable, concrete streaming video service at a competitive price, they can slowly remove DVD’s from kiosks and replace them with the hottest new video games on the market. In conclusion, Redbox is currently providing a service which is in its decline stage and they need to consider changing their product mix in order to get ahead of the curve. They can accomplish this by providing consumers with an online streaming video service and becoming a pioneer in the gaming industry. Get Your Game on with Redbox!

Mining and its Affects on the Community

Arrandale, Tom. â€Å"Public Land Policy†. CQ Researcher Online. 17 June 1994. Rio Salado College Online.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Tom Arrandale, a CQ Researcher contributor from Albuqueque, New Mexico, uses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  congressional hearings and senate records to provide an unbiased documentation of the raging battle over the Clinton administration’s plans to up user fees and implement stricter control in the use of public lands which yield gold, timber, and livestock feed.   In a previous report, Mary Cooper cited the opposition of residents of Washington, Oregon and northern California against stricter control and are said to be unwilling to sacrifice â€Å"jobs for owls†. Cooper, Mary H. â€Å"Cleaning Up Hazardous Wastes†. CQ Researcher Online. 23 August 1996. Rio Salado College Online. This article discusses the positive and negative aspects of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which is more popularly known as the Superfund law which went into effect December 11, 1980, as well as the need to improve it.   She had previously identified some of the former U.S. Nuclear Weapons Plants which became Superfund sites in her earlier report entitled â€Å"Nuclear Arms Cleanup†, published in the June 24, 1994 issue of the CQ Researcher Associated essay: Text Mining and Business Ramifications Cooper, Mary H. â€Å"Water Quality†. CQ Researcher Online. 24 November 2000. Rio Salado College Online.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This article is about the success of the 1972 Clean Water Act in eliminating water pollutants coming from the most obvious point sources which are the industrial plants and sewage treatment plants.   However, Cooper contends that about forty percent of waters in the country are still polluted owing to runoffs from coal mines in the mountains, animal wastes and toxic chemicals from agricultural farms, and toxins from city street sewers.   In another article a couple of years later entitled â€Å"Bush and the Environment†, Cooper voiced the same apprehension when the Bush administration allowed companies mining for coal in the mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia to dump their rubbles into surrounding streams. Landers, Robert K. â€Å"Is America Allowing Its Past To Be Stolen?† CQ Researcher Online. 18 January 1991. Rio Salado College Online.    Landers talks about how America’s past is being lost through the mining of American Indian artifacts and discusses the merits and shortcomings of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act signed by President Bush in November 1990. In a later article in the CQ Researcher, Mary Cooper writes about the American Indians’ fear â€Å"of racism by a society that can’t come to grips with its bloody past.† Prah, Pamela M. â€Å"Coal Mining Safety†. CQ Researcher Online. 17 March 2006. Rio Salado College Online. Using extracts from a congressional forum on mine safety as well as statements of experts  and government authorities, Prah dwells on the subject of the protection of the nation’s coal miners in the aftermath of an incident in a Sago, West Virginia mine explosion which killed 12 miners.   This prompted the NIOSH, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the state of West Virginia, to co-sponsor an International Mining Health and Safety Symposium on April 20-22, 2006 in Wheeling, West Virginia.                           

Original Sin: A Cultural History Essay

â€Å"Original Sin: A Cultural History† has been written by Alan Jacobs. What makes this book distinctive is that it is a â€Å"cultural history† of original sin, not a work of theology or spirituality though, it does engage with some theological work, predominantly with Augustine. It is an exemplary history not because it represents excellence that other historians would do well to emulate, but because it makes its case through examples. It highlights narratives about people, people who engage in a serious and considerate way with the idea of original sin, whether by accepting it, refusing it, or brawling with the possibility of it. It is an appealing book though it doesn’t answer all the questions about the doctrine but it is more or less not fair to criticize it for that as it was not Jacob’s intention to write a work of theological history. What makes it so useful is its assessment of how the doctrine has inclined literature, philosophy, politics or in short, how it has influenced Western culture. An indispensable question through the time has been whether human nature is basically good or basically evil. If it is good, general human development may be assumed; if it is intrinsically faulty, then the American Founders were right in proclaiming that nature has to be constrained by justice. Though some people have suggested that original sin is the only empirically provable Christian doctrine, however, views vary on what original sin is. In this deep, original, and witty book, Professor Alan Jacobs displays wide learning worn lightly as he scrutinizes the views of writers like Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jonathan Edwards and C. S. Lewis, and Sigmund Freud and J.  R. R. Tolkien. The concept of original sin predates Christianity, Jacobs points out, citing not only Genesis 3, in which Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are expelled from Paradise, but also Psalm 51, which declares that humans are conceived in sin and born in iniquity. â€Å"The universality of sin,† Jacobs concludes, â€Å"is certainly a Jewish belief. † He explains that the traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity, though changeable in their details, have that God created human nature intrinsically good. The writer is of the view that goodness must require freedom if it is not to be robotic, and that Adam and Eve freely chose their own will over that of God, thus consigning original  ¬sin. All humans take part in original sin, whether it is passed on from generation to generation through time, or whether the whole human race decides in one everlasting moment to disobey  ¬God. In the book, Jacobs efficiently defends Augustine against the many attacks against him, demonstrating that doctrines of original sin similar to Augustine’s headed him by at least two centuries in both the East and the West. Jacobs quickly neglects the belief that original sin was  ¬sexual.  ¬Adam and Eve practiced free sex in Eden before their expulsion. Original sin is the initial declaration of human pride against God. Augustine did maintain that original sin, once it existed, was inherited through generations, in the same way that today we understand genetic flaws are passed on. Contrary to another common misconception about Augustine, he was obdurate that the source of sin does not lie in the body but rather in the corruption of the will. Writer’s most unique and thought provoking argument is that original sin has strong self-governing impli ¬ca ¬tions. Refutation of original sin leads to elitism. For instance, the Duchess simply refuses to believe that she shares a common nature with the  ¬self–righteous people who trust that they can make themselves good by stacking up a higher pile of good deeds than of bad ones. Another point that the writers emphasizes is that no one receives the full brunt of his rage as much as Rousseau and the myth of the noble savage. Writing of the â€Å"Wordsworthian fluff† about the innocence and wholesomeness of children,† he argues, â€Å"certainly I have always wondered whether those who talk about ‘childlike innocence’ have had children of their own or even spent much time around them. † When he narrates the sad outcome of the child of an intellectual who was sent to Rousseau to be raised according to the philosopher’s indulging theories in Emile, he notes that the boy never afterwards took well to education of any kind. He became a sailor and ultimately immigrated to America, dying in North Carolina at the age of thirty-two. † At least Jacobs is honest in not repressing his Schadenfreude over the underdeveloped moral growth of the young man. This of course raises a perfectly valid question that how profitable is this book for a nonbeliever? Jacobs, as prominent, never hides his positions, and he certainly lays out a historically informed defense of what many have considered a most destructive doctrine that grew out of the particular self-loathing anti-humanism of Paul and Augustine. If I see myself on such position on the doctrine of original sin, I personally agree with the concept of the original sin as discussed by the writer in this book. It illuminates that original sin has strong independent impli ¬ca ¬tions. It also illustrates that the basis of sin does not lie in the body but relatively in the dishonesty of the will. On the other hand it obscures or doesn’t explain the answer to the vital question that whether the human nature is good or evil. If it is good, general human progress can be understood; if it is intrinsically faulty, then it can be concluded that nature has to be constrained by justice.

American People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American People - Essay Example The difference in the opinion led to a crisis of authority when the opposition from the colonists turned into riots, boycotts of imported goods and burning dummies of English officials. It was not thought of as a war of independence in the beginning, it was mere a fight for their own rights. As the dispute grew more and more the American Patriots set forth to win their independence and to build a new equality based society. By the late eighteenth century, the Americans had more liberties, paid lesser taxes and considered themselves as more fortunate citizens compared to any other nation. Ivring Kristol in his article â€Å"The Most Successful Revolution† quotes: "One even gets the impression that many of us regard ourselves as too sophisticated to take the Revolution seriously." He explains that the American Revolution was really different than other revolutions of that era and that is the reason why it was so successful. (Kristol, 5) Kristol’s first point was that the Americans do not celebrate Independence Day as enthusiastically as it was during the past few years. It is because the Americans are more arrogant and insolent and view the American Revolution as an unsophisticated representation of them. The Americans of this age believe that their forefathers were immature and primeval individuals who were unaware of what they were actually doing as compared to the sophisticated generation of today. People have merely forgotten the American Revolution with the passage of time but the message that it conveys should not be forgotten in the hearts of the younger generation. Their forefathers were the hardworking generation who fought for their rights and succeeded, whereas the Americans of this age think that they are too sophisticated and refined to do things like that. Many of them do not even believe if the American Revolution should really be celebrated. Kristol also talked about the differences between a democracy and a republic by clearing the confusion in a common man’s mind. He says that Democracy is the rule of popular passion whereas in a republic, sanctions govern the people where passion is considered as an unfit. (Middlekauff, 256) Kristol states that the division in the government of democrats and republicans has split the country which is somewhat true but on the other hand it also adds up a variety in the government. The problem arises when both the democrats and the republicans refuse to compromise their personal interests for the betterment of the common man since they are always involved in defeating the other. The government created by the forefathers was made with great thought and devotion looking into every possible detail. They designed it in this way do that the people are able to develop their opinions and can elect government officials who support their opinions. Kristol’s prediction of losing reverence in the forefathers by the Americans has come true to some extent. It is needed, howev er that the Americans need to transform their point of view about the government. Americans have lost pride in them and in their country, for which it is required to stop fighting among them and concentrate on the ideology proposed by their forefathers for equality and justice and ultimately a prosperous nation. The American Revolution had and still has a great significance as it depicts that the less privileged yet hardworking people should be treated equally like the ones who are financially stable. The American Revolution expresses to the entire world that the US is the only country where all the citizens have equal rights and privileges which are granted to them right after birth. It is no doubt a symbol of liberty and independence to other nations around the globe. There were a few promises of the