The human self is found in the dialectical relationship between the two contradictory aspects of our existence. We exist as an interplay of subjectivity and objectivity, the I and the me. The I is the infinite, eternal essence of our soul that exists in a world of endless universals and possibilities. The me is the finite, temporal being called a human. It is a particular, which can only be described in universals. The self exists in a different level. It is the “relation relating to itself” (Keirkegaard 43). The human cannot be said to be any one of the characteristics listed above. It is the synthesis of all these aspects. We are each our own unique interplay and the self is the relation of this unique interplay to itself. However, we can never be our full self in the eyes of God, which is one cause of the inescapable human experience of despair.
Despair is an inherent aspect of existence as a human being for several reasons. The first of which being that a person can never be a whole, unified self due to it being composed of a set of contradictions. The dialectical nature of the parts means that the union can never be complete despite the self stemming from the very relations that hold them together. To be fully oneself would mean that no contradictions could exist. A person could only be fully a subject or fully an object. However, God is the only being that is solely subjective and to be fully objective would mean that the object would have no concept of its own existence and therefore, would not be a self. Despair is the result of this paradox. We despair that we cannot fully actualize the ideal that our nature creates. Despair also results due to the fact that we cannot claim to be causa sui. We are not the creators ...
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...nges to life like buying a fancy new car or marrying a new young wife. They are scared that they have limited their possibilities too much and hope to feel better about themselves by improving their false selves, while still unaware of the true causes of their despair.
Despair is the quality that makes us different from every other being. It shows that we are unique creatures with the ability for self-reflection. Despair is present in humans at all points of our existence. Despair, therefore, has a very significant influence on our life depending on how we approach it. The ignorance of despair is a form of despair because it takes us farther from knowing the true self. It manifests itself in the unintentional attempt to escape our true self, which is seen in lifestyle choices and general attitudes toward the meaning of life and the factors affecting our existence.
Depression shifts ones focus off the necessity to belong in life onto the thinking one never can.
Thesis: Every individual has been at greif sometime in their life. Feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless is understandable when going through a life struggle, a loss, and low self esteem. Reacting this way may turn out to be clinical depression rather than just a bad case of blues.
Literature often explores the questions raised in life: Who are we? What does it mean to die? What kind of world do we live in? Throughout this course, there seems to have been an underlying theme in most of the works that have been read, concerning human misery. It seems that most of those who experience tremendous suffering, actually allow it to happen to themselves. If one chooses to look at the losses in life, one may never find true happiness, but if one chooses to perceive those losses as an opportunity for growth, one may find the "perfect world" right here.
despair, fears of the future, fears of failure or of not being loved. Society plays a huge
...cal or intellectual need. If this were so, she would not have conceived of herself as spiritually lacking. It is only in reflecting on her present condition that she may then understand herself as spiritually deficient; through this present understanding of herself she is able to negate her present situation by turning her attention towards fulfilling this need, giving her action of fasting meaning. That is, the cause of her act of fasting is not derived from some past or present determinate but rather is derived from a future possibility which is presently non-existent. In contrast, the suffering (i.e., hunger) of a depressed person is (usually) a result of that depression; the suffering just happens to the person. The suffering the depressed person is feeling is only a cause of the lack of active sustenance, and thus the suffering is not valued in and of itself by the individual. Our choices and actions, therefore, gain purpose because we reflect upon ourselves and conceive not only who we were and who we are, but who we desire to be. It is because we can actively respond to this self-conception and self-projection that we have free will and our lives are, in turn, meaningful.
low whereby people may feel sad, empty, hopeless and worthless. There are potential causes to
How does the amount of information known by someone affect decisions made by that person? Based on a survey by The National Interest, thirty-one percent of Americans could not name the Vice President of America, and that is where they live. The amount of ignorance displayed in America is scary seeing how it could explain why things have happened in the past, and possibly could've prevented them. It is believed that the amount of propaganda used is probably the best explanation for why most Americans are oblivious to the events happening in society; but what does this mean for America? Ignorance is harmful to America since it allows the people to be blinded and deceived by not only the government of the country they live in, but they governments of other countries also; which could ultimately prevent the people from not only being able to react to situations, but to keep them from occurring in the first place also.
Major mood disorders are characterized by emotional extremes. The person who only goes “down” emotionally suffers from a major depressive disorder. During major depressive episodes, everything looks bleak and hopeless. The person has feelings of failure, worthlessness, and total despair (Coon, 2013). Essentially it causes a constant sense of hopelessness and despair, and may be difficult to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy friends and activities. Depression indeed can be deadly.
The general population has a limited base of knowledge about computers in modern society, which can be related to an abundance of what Robert N Proctor describes as natural and passive ignorance in his book "Agnotology: A Missing Term to Describe the Cultural Production of Ignorance (and its Study)". The presence of ignorance is particularly focused around technology in society today because of a general disinterest in technological specifics and what we use every day, as well as actively constructed ignorance by manufacturers in order to protect their products. What manufacturers do like to advertise are computer processing speeds, which have been growing exponentially since their creation in the 1930s, starting with being able to send and
Since human kind gained the ability of reflection we have questioned our purpose of existence. What makes a human, human? Four philosophers, representing four areas of Philosophy, attempt to answer this question. First is the Dutchman Soren Kierkegaard and his book Sickness unto Death, who is considered the “Father of Existentialism”. Prevalent through all of Kierkegaard’s work was his constant goal to move people closer to God and thus closer to discovering their authentic self. Therefore, our relationship with God is what makes us human. Next is Jeremy Rifkin and his book The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in A World in Crisis who believes that humanity is defined by our ability to empathize with other humans whether
Despair.” During this stage the person correlates wisdom with life experiences and the sense of life accomplishments. Those who fail this stage results in a sense of despair the feeling of an unfulfilled life. Those who successfully master this stage will gain the ego skill of “Wisdom.”
Despair: Late Adult (65+) This stage involves reflecting and reminiscing concerning one 's life. A person feels empowered when examining their life as an accomplishment or disappointment. If a person has been successful in their life, they will exhibit a sense of integrity. They will experience a feeling of gratification, contentment, and completion as a momentous life. At this point in their life, they expect death as a valued commodity to humanity. If a person has been unproductive in their lifetime, they will convey hopelessness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, with a sense of remorse and despair. They may get depressed and fear death. Success at this stage has occurred leading us to the Virtue of
Throughout our lives we are shaped and molded by our friends and family. They have a lasting affect that can shape our mind and our self. Self is determined by the combination of selves that surround a person on a daily basis. From the childhood friends that we try so hard to hang on to as we journey farther and farther into the real world, to the hated boss and teachers that haunt our mind as we lie awake in our beds at nighttime, we are a product of all those selves. It is the self that determines the course of actions that are taken. Our Actions offer a window into our selves. The actions or reactions toward tragedies, celebrations, disappointments and the occasional lucky break all reflections of our self. Every one of us has a different self, because no one knows the exact same people as someone else. I believe our self contains our values and beliefs. All of our priorities, goals and aspirations we have for ourselves stem directly from the self. Our reactions are also a window into our self. In my opinion, self is a giant jigsaw-puzzle. It is filled with different pieces of others selves that we have interacted with throughout our life, that combine to make one big picture, our self. I have taken pieces of many people who I have encountered throughout my life. My three older brothers influenced major pieces of my self. The pieces of their selves have "fit" into my jigsaw-puzzle self, and complete my total picture. Without force, or a conscious effort by my brothers, the certain pieces of their selves have naturally configured to form my self.
It is apparent that we are personified entities, but also, that we embrace “more” than just our bodies. “Human persons are physical, embodied beings and an important feature of God’s intended design for human life” (Cortez, 70). But, “human persons have an ‘inner’ dimension that is just as important as the ‘outer’ embodiment” (Cortez, 71). The “inner” element cannot be wholly explained by the “outer” embodiment, but it does give rise to inimitable facets of the human mental life such as human dignity and personal identity.
A self is some sort of inner being or principle, essential to, but not identical with, the person as whole. It is that in a person that thinks and feels. The self is usually conceived in philosophy as that which one refer to with the word “I”. It is that part or aspects of a person that accounts for personal identity through time. In spite of all the ways one can change with time, the self is invariably same through time. A self is what is supposed to account for the fact that an individual is same person today as he/she was at the age of five, given that all his characteristics have changed over time. For instance, compared to his childhood, this individual is stronger, taller, and smarter; he has different aspirations and dreams, different thoughts and fears, his interests and activities are remarkably different. Yet, he is still the same ...