Philosophy

A detailed Summary of Philosophy

Everyone seems to have a philosophy on life - what would be the point of living everyday without some absolute, underlying purpose to existence? When there is an unknown in life, man manifests a comfort for the sole purpose of security. This has been true throughout time whether it be philosophies about nature, religion, etc. The fact is that we do not like having unknowns in our life; we don't like having variables. Man has been engaged in a relentless pursuit of knowledge of himself and his surroundings from day one; we have made some incredible advances in science because of it. However, beyond the realm of science, mostly composed of hard facts and theories, there lies spirituality - why are we here? Who or what created us? Is there a God? What is the universe? What exactly is the human condition? And once these questions are answered, how should we live our lives?

I only wish constructing a life philosophy was that simple; these questions have tormented man interminably and without a shred of relief. It is an endless game, coming up with the answers, and is often comprised of one step forward and two steps back. It is also equally difficult for me to put together a life philosophy because I am only sixteen years old. Only af

Religion seems too "man-made" for me. One can go out in nature and physically prove that evolution and natural selection are occurring, however one cannot do the same with God, Jesus, etc. The whole idea of "blind faith" doesn't work for me; why should I give my life to a man that I never met whose only proof of existence is spelled out in a book? I don't believe in heaven, although I would like to. When one dies, they die; that is the end of it. I think many people turn to religion out of fear of dying which is completely natural to have. Death is the most intangible idea that exists.

In our world, the only truly important idea is happiness. If one can live his or her life, look back and honestly say that he or she has achieved happiness, life has been a success. One must do whatever makes him or her happy, while fitting into society, whether that be help others, achieve a far off goal, or pray. Everyone has a philosophy on life and its purpose, however it is important not to get caught up in so exhaustively pondering the concept that life, such a beautifully complex poem, passes him or her by.

As time went on and the quest of man was no longer that of staying alive through the brutal, hand-inflicted murder of wildlife, but that of finding happiness, this instinct of utter selfishness gradually converted itself into its present form.

Paradoxically enough, the meaning of life comes down to fulfilling one's meaning of life; accordingly, one's meaning of life is what makes them happy. One must live their life in the relentless pursuit of happiness and rely on this inner selfishness in which everyone has inside of them. My philosophy on the human condition has many parallels with that of Golding's, the difference being that Golding believed that it his purest manifestation man is utterly evil, whereas I do not feel that man is utterly evil - he simply acts out of selfishness.

In essence, my theory stems back to primordial man and his relentless quest for food, shelter, and thus, security. Therefore, he has always been ravenously gathering as much as possible from his surroundings. As time went by and man became much more civilized, this instinct was filtered out, however it still lies deep within us today in not only the way we act from our selfishness, but in how our taste buds and certain sense perceptions operate. This accounts for the reason that fatty foods appeal to our taste buds so much - because our bodies have been trained since the beginning of our existence to obtain as much fat as possible and store it. This instinct has been passed through infini

Some common words found in the essay are:
God Jesus, , EE Cummings, God Instead, George Orwell's, meaning life, human condition, single entity, willing die, one's meaning life, live life, natural selection, relentless pursuit, life philosophy, makes happy, one's meaning,

Approximate Word count = 1745
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English