Dostoyevskys Underground Man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dostoyevskys Underground Man - Essay Example Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man In the process of writing the novel, Dostoyevsky was much more concerned on remote ideals of European liberalism, because he did not believe in them anymore. In the beginning of his writing career, Dostoyevsky was a dreamer and an ideal romanticist. The ideas of utopian socialism inspired Dostoyevsky in his early writings. When he was in exile, these ideas vanished into thin air and he became more pragmatic and was focused not on the political principles, but on the ideas of an individual’s nature and the essence of a human being. The Irrationalism of the Underground Man Both the irrational and the rational exist in the human being. There is no need to discard the principles of irrationality, because it is another form of self-reflection. The Underground Man and his nature are close to any individual. A study of a disturbed mind and the existential nature of an individual was discussed by Dostoyevsky. The author managed to try his prey or the main characters of the novel in or der to show the limit of their rationality. Sometimes, in the situation of despair an individual becomes a piece of meat, which may be easily eaten by the stronger species. His heroes like being tortured and it is the way of their self-definition and self-expression. The same principles can be traced in existentialist philosophy, where individuals experience tortures in the name of tortures. It is a kind of exam for an inner world of an individual. The man’s irrational nature is dominant over his rational mind. In the Underground Man Dostoyevsky attacks human rationality, the ideas of materialism and utopianism. A man wants to gratify his self-will. The basic features of a hero of the Underground Man should be searched in his ability to be a typical, an ordinary man. Existentialists are focused on the nature of a man, his ability to proud of his inner emotions, both negative and positive. The way of an inner corruption is the means for self-analysis. The fundamental principle s of existentialism are reflected in the novel by Dostoyevsky. In order to comprehend his being, a man considers it more interesting, integrative and universal than outer world. Existentialists are not focused on logic, because actions taken by an individual are subjective and the responsibility for these actions is assigned for individuals only. There is more irrational in the actions of an individual and there is no point to consider human actions from the perspective of logic. The main character of the novel defines himself as a sick, depressed man and there is a need to find some remedy for him. Is there a need in it? That is really interesting question. The being, who is able to evaluate him critically, is the real individual. The main character of Dostoyevsky underlines his desire to identify him: â€Å"I did not know how to become anything; neither spiteful nor kind, neither a rascal nor an honest man, neither a hero nor an insect†) (Dostoevsky 1). Thus, one of the mai n principles of existentialism works in the novel. The main character also claims that despair and suffering are the greatest enjoyment for him, because he may feel them acutely. He realizes his hopelessness and he enjoys having a chance to identify himself. Despair is a wide road for self-identification. In case the main character manages to define him, he would be able to understand the essence of his being and also the directions of his future

Does Religion Cause War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Does Religion Cause War - Essay Example Religion is a sensitive issue because it is a matter of the heart to many people, (Burleigh 111-120). It arouses intense emotions. In many part of the world, religion is incorporated into people’s culture, (Gieling 190-201). If a religion causes war, it must be viewed in terms of what religion means to those who are passionate about it, (Burleigh 111). In other words, religion affects many things about people and becomes part and parcel of the personal life of those people. In that sense, people are bound to defend religion as part of their heritage, culture and essence of existence. Religion has proved to be stronger than life itself, (Gieling 190-201). People are willing to die for religious reasons. The fact is most religions come with a promise of greater and better life than life on earth. This is something that people are strongly attached to, (Burleigh 111-120). The attachment to deity makes life on earth seem to be of little or no significance. According to the religio us, this can seem to justify war to take care of these religious interests. Simply put, people can rise up to fight in the name of religion. Loyalty to a being higher than a human can cause people to go to the extremes, (Pearse 147). This has been proved over time. People feel that the reward they want from the unseen deity is more beneficial than respecting the rights of their fellow brothers and sisters. Sometimes the zeal tends to go overboard. For every act of adversity meted to fellow humans through a conflict of a religious nature, people feel there is a reward for it, (Gieling 190-201). This reward does not have to be physical. Religion and War are not strange bed fellows. In fact, they have gone together for a long time. Some of the reasons why people go to war in the name of religion include; spreading their faith. It has been argued that involving God in a war does not necessarily make it holy. One thing is clear, whether war is being done to spread faith or not, it is bou nd to have casualties. The results are always devastating. It has also been said that people fight with an aim of recovering consecrated places, (Pearse 147). These are places referred to as alters which could be profaned and polluted by a group that does not understand the proper use of such places. Such a belief causes the religious to feel duty bound to act on behalf of their god. In the process of recovery of such places, resistance arises, and that can become a beginning of a chain of wars. This includes war to avenge for acts of killings or past time cruelties which were done with a religious intention. Some Christians, Muslims or other groups feel that they may also want to recover countries that were once controlled by their faith. Many countries especially in Middle East and Asia have gone to the extent of incorporating their religion into their constitutions, (Gieling 190-201). This means that religion became part of the culture of those countries. A violation of faith in such a setting is viewed as blasphemy. In such cases, it becomes hard for people with other religious affiliations to exercise their religious freedom. In a large or small way, religion in such a context becomes a source of conflict. The paradox of religion is that it was meant to instill freedom and peace into a world full of conflict, (Cavanaugh 51-62). However, more often than not, religion tends to bring chaos. We have had long and protracted conflicts in the Middle East, (Burleigh 111-120). All because of religious reasons, we have had militias formed to defend certain religious convictions in remote societies. To a certain extent, there