The Worldly Philosophers

sculpture. An example of his work is David, which was the first full-size, nude statue since Roman times. Donatello was influenced by the renewal of Neoplatonist philosophy. The philosophy was said to believe in inspiration as a means of arising from worldly existence to a spiritual coming together with the divine. Another movement was the Baroque which ran approximately from 1600-1750. Shifting from Renaissance technique to more varied styles that evoked drama, and emotion. A couple of the…

Regardless of the branch of philosophy that a philosopher is focusing on, whether it be epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, or aesthetics, each one must establish a base from which they will build their specific thought process. It is within the nature of reason, or their signature strategy to approaching logic and observations, that effectively separates one philosopher from the next. Correspondingly, philosophers Thomas Hobbes and David Hume attempt to lay an empirical foundation,…

Candide is a French satire novel written by Voltaire, who was a philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment. Candide criticizes religion, politics, and philosophy, with Voltaire combining his wittiness with a comedic and adventurous romance story. Candide has several main themes, one of the themes is how it is foolish to be optimistic, and the story of Candide repeatedly tells us this. Another theme is criticizing how Pangloss 's philosophical theology of things were meant to happen, is…

Oftentimes, humans place religion on a pedestal and view religious beings in a positive light. However, the Age of Enlightenment challenged these customs instead of blindly following them. Similarly, in his satirical novella Candide, Voltaire imbeds his belief that religion is superstitious as he constructs specific characters who mock the superficiality and hypocrisy of it. As he highlights the varying philosophies and beliefs of these characters, he advances the plot and shames the world’s…

endeavor at trying to understand the universe and our place in it. Lao Tzu is a chinese philosopher who founded Taoism which is defined as a way of life. He wrote his ideas in a book called Tao Te Ching that is still known around the world today. Marcus Aurelius is a Roman emperor who wrote Meditations, a book that has details about Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts and stoicism in general. While these two philosophers may have been born in different eras and different parts of the world, they have some…

young man who had a penchant for adventure and living unconventionally. Unlike most Americans, McCandless did not deem wealth, government, and other worldly concepts as vital components in life. Instead, McCandless lived an eccentric lifestyle; McCandless’ outlook on life relates to the views of modern transcendentalism. Transcendentalists are philosophers who believe in order to live a successful life one must live by challenging experience and not conforming to society. Famous…

many topics in philosophy, this question cannot be met with a simple answer, but instead, it should be explored through the unique perspectives of a multitude of different philosophers. Because a multitude of differing yet acceptable answers exist to the question, “what is the ethical or moral choice in this situation?” philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and J.S. Mill have taken the forefront with radically different yet illuminating ideals on the ethical permissibility of our actions. Although…

ultimate truth they do open up many other fields of thought that eventually lead way into the larger truth. It is the many, small contributions in this case that count, and that al-Kindi appreciates. Taking into consideration his stance on Greek philosophers, he was highly in favor of, but due to religious beliefs he could not fully support if he wanted to garner support from the caliphs. He returns to the same subject emboldened when saying “We must not be ashamed to admire the truth or to…

We have seen this before: the wanton killing of Black people by police. The historical record is replete over four centuries and well into the early 21st century. Black lives do not matter in the United States of America because they do not. They have never mattered. The current economic obsolescence of Black people has been in the making over the last 40 years with the dislocation and shifts in the industrial base of the U.S. economy. The Information and Technological Age, while benefiting from…

came to play. Buddha then set out on a journey to learn how to set people free from their pain and left to become a monk, with the idea or thought this would help him to achieve enlightenment. He needed a suitable place to allow him freedom from worldly pleasures and to be able to meditate to his full…