Abstract
There may be many theories that describe the human phenomenon called religion; however, specific views by Eliade and Smith are looked into in this paper. The writer looks at different views and perspectives of religion. The writer concludes that within its importance to human existence, religion challenges our attention in terms of relating its foundation in explanation and relating its origin to human existence.

From the Paper
"In a historical view, religion seems to give people a living edge or living in another world that is more adaptive in terms of their human existence. In another sense, religion may be viewed in a materialistic view, not in terms of people shopping or watching new technologies but more unpromisingly a biological, philosophical and technological view."

Tags:religion, human, existence, god

Abstract
This paper examines the philosophical outlooks of several famous thinkers on the meaning of human existence. The paper begins by describing differing approaches to the role of God in human belief. Then, the paper is divided into three sections with each describing the philosophical viewpoints of noted intellectuals from different disciplines. These include Erich Fromm, Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell. The paper concludes with the author summarizing which approaches are meaningful to him.

Outline:
Introduction
Erich Fromm
Albert Einstein
Bertrand Russell
Personal Philosophical Perspective

From the Paper
"Philosophers vary in their beliefs: some accept the presupposition that the value of human affairs relates to the principles thought to derive from God; others maintain that human life is not particularly valuable or meaningful inherently, any more than that of any other species. Contrary to what some may assume, it is precisely some of the philosophers and intellectual pioneers who reject an supposed profound meaningfulness of human life who have expressed some of the most humanistic points of view."

Tags:universe, God, humanism

Abstract
This paper discusses the meaning of human existence, as presented in twentieth century literature. In particular, it focuses on the issue as discussed in "Separating" by John Updike, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway and "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" by Richard Wright. The paper also discusses the extent to which the writer agrees or disagrees with these authors' implied ideas.

From the Paper
" Richard Wright's short story ""The Man Who Was Almost a Man", like John Updike's "Separating", is a story about one character's pursuit of happiness and in this case "manhood" at the expense of other characters. In this story, the viewpoint character, 17-year-old Dave Saunders has yearned to own a gun, as a sign of his "manhood". Dave finally acquires one with money his mother gives him. Dave has also promised to turn over the gun to his mother once he buys it, but he does not. Instead, Dave goes out into the field where his family works, for Mr. Hawkins, and accidentally shoots to death Mr. Hawkins's mule, Jenny. After Dave finally gets his wish to have his own gun, however, his new sense of "manhood" quickly vanishes for reasons Dave himself (or his family) never would have imagined."

Tags:expression, story, character

Abstract
The paper examines how both Robert Louis Stevenson in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and Aldous Huxley in "Brave New World" develop and explore the themes of desire, pleasure, self-restraint, gratification and "humanness." The paper discusses their respective stories about human misuses, either individually or within a dystopian totalitarian society of scientific technology. The paper demonstrates how both authors imply within their novels how human existence, by its very nature, involves frustrated desire, pleasure and displeasure and the necessity, however uncomfortable and frustrating, for self-restraint in order not to hurt oneself and others.

From the Paper
"Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) features, at the beginning of the story, a well-respected doctor, Dr. Jekyll, who scientifically concocts a potion that allows him to change himself, since he would like to experience feeling less human restraint than he does as the responsible and respectable Dr. Jekyll, into a hideous monster of a man, the destructive, unpredictable, and murderous Mr. Hyde. Stevenson's novel, set in Victorian England, during a time of then-unprecedented technological and scientific progress (a fact that may well have helped Stevenson to create the idea for this novel), underscores human anxieties of the sort that still exist today about the possibilities of new scientific progress (e.g., cloning; genetic engineering), in his creation of the fictional Mr. Hyde."

Tags:scientist, technology, destruction, desire, pleasure

Abstract
This analysis presents a unifying theme that ties together Francis Ford Coppola's film "Apocalypse Now" with Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" and T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men." The analysis argues that the uniting theme is man's inability to break through to the reality of human existence.

From the Paper
"Francis Ford Coppola's film "Apocalypse Now", Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" and T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" all share a common theme. The theme that most unites these three works is the belief that human beings are incapable of handling the reality of existence. In "Apocalypse Now", Kurtz is a decorated war veteran who has rebelled from the Army and taken residence deep in the jungle where he presides as a god-like figure over a tribe of natives. From there..."

Tags:horror, social constructions, morals, judgment, values

Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of Stanley Kunitz' poem "The Layers." The poem is summarized, an emotional reaction is given and a discussion of tone then precedes a discussion of the poet's intention in writing the piece.

From the Paper
"Stanley Kunitz' poem 'The Layers' offers observations on the transitory and always changing nature of human existence by a speaker who is mature and knows the milestones are dwindling toward the horizon. Kunitz was born in Worcester Massachusetts in and named Poet Laureate in ... and McCormick Kunitz personally knows the loss and change in life that is a focus in this poem, since his father committed suicide before he was born and his stepfather died when he was just fourteen. Yet 'The Layers' is a poem ..."

Tags:life, change, mortality, sadness, fatalism, optimism, imagery

Abstract
The concepts of existence and human freedom have been presented by Jean-Paul Sartre in his book entitled "Being and Nothingness", and they represent essential parts of his theory. However, Sartre also presents other related concepts, such as bad faith which as been referred to as a device that protects us from the anguish of realising that we are freer than we like to think we are. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper will be to examine why Sartre thought that existence is absurd, as well as the significance of this idea to his view of human freedom.

Tags:human, freedom

Abstract
An analysis of C.S. Lewis' position that God's existence is proven by reason of the universal moral law to which all humanity subscribes. The paper explains Lewis' observations of human nature.

From the Paper
"Although any argument meant to be sustained by logic ought to stand on its own, it is instructive in this instance to note that C. S. Lewis was a professor whose religiosity emerged decisively only when he was in his thirties. Various accounts of his life explain that although raised in a religious home, Church of Ireland, part of the Anglican communion, he was by his own account an atheist, until as a mature adult he became a convert to the Church of England. Thus..."

Tags:God's existence, moral law

Abstract
This paper explains that, according to astrophysicists, society may never have a way of accessing any information about anything that occurred prior to the first milliseconds after the Big Bang; therefore, the truth of whether or not any God or Creator is responsible for the existence of the universe and life may never be known for lack of necessary data. However, the author continues, many 20th century philosophers believe that the harmony of nature proves the existence of a creator. Nonetheless, presently, the paper underscores, there is simply no logically sound argument to suggest that the existence of any God or Creator is even one iota more likely than not to be true.


Table of Contents:
Introduction
Analyzing the Issue Is Impossible because it Lies Outside the Realm of Human Intellect
The Mere Fact that We Exist Is Proof that a Creator Exists and the Inability to Explain Spontaneous Creation Proves that a Creator Is Necessary
Increasing Complexity Violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics
The Universe Could Not Have Come into Existence from Nothing
The Harmony of Nature Proves the Existence of a Creator
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Answering the question by reference to a God or Creator simply raises the exact same logical problems about the Creator: (1) if the self-creation of the universe is impossible, a self- created God is equally impossible; if spontaneous origin of the universe is impossible, a spontaneously originating Creator is equally impossible; and if the reality of the mechanism behind the origin of God is too complex to understand, it does not in any way explain or solve the perplexing problem about the existence of the universe."

Tags:thermodynamics, cultural definitions, system self-creation, logical
principles

Abstract
In this paper, the writer critically examines Berkeley's first line of argument against the existence of matter that he presents in "A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge". This argument is frequently called "the Perception Argument" and is his first attempt to more firmly establish his central thesis of existence being tied into perception. The paper thoroughly explains the argument and presents Berkeley's responses to the most immediate objections that come up to it (the objections that are actually addressed in the text of his treatise). The writer also examines briefly how Berkeley's argument serves to contradict arguments regarding material substance made by Locke in "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding". The paper then offers a more robust objection to Berkeley's Perception Argument that attacks some key assumptions that the argument clearly relies on, specifically those regarding relationships between matter and ideas that Berkeley clearly assumes do not exist. The objection is furthered by examining the sections where Berkeley assumes that matter does exist in an attempt to show that such an assumption involves manifest contradictions.

From the Paper
" Over the course of reading A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, it becomes evident that Berkeley is not so much trying to convince the reader of a certain opinion of the nature of the world and our perception of it as much as he is trying to present his actual, everyday perception of the world and his existence in it. Berkeley repeatedly says things like, "Some truths there are so near and obvious to the mind, that a man need only open his eyes to see them," (?6) that suggest the intuitive obviousness that he sees in his doctrine. Frequently, a tone of frustration comes through in his writing - especially in the sections dealing with possible objections to his theory (?34-84) - illustrative of the difficulty he must have been feeling in trying to get everyone else to see what was so damn obvious to him. As such, many of Berkeley's arguments in support of his particular fundamental beliefs seem to be afterthoughts of their respective conclusions. His vision of the nature of existence being grounded in "esse is percipi" (?3) is so strong that he does not always seem to be too concerned with the particular logic behind his supporting arguments. This is especially true when it comes to his arguments denying the existence of matter. In this paper, I will argue that, while Berkeley's conclusion regarding the non-existence of matter is quite profound, his actual arguments for this conclusion do not sufficiently verify it. To do this, I will examine the first argument Berkeley makes against the existence of matter, the so-called "Perception Argument." I will argue that this argument relies heavily on a fallacious line of reasoning about the nature of matter and the inability of matter to cause ideas in us. I will then examine several passages in Principles that support the idea that Berkeley's belief that matter does not exist is grounded largely in his - or anyone else's - inability to really define what matter is. "

Tags:argument, berkeley, idealism, idealists, ideas, locke, material, matter, perception, subjective, substance