"Death is nothing to us." How good are the Epicurean arguments for this claim?
Epicureanism is one of the philosophical schools of thought that was very popular during the Hellenistic period and was originally founded by Epicurus who lived from 341-270 BC. Epicurus continuously rejected the belief that gods interfered in human life and/or caused natural events to occur. One of his arguments was that if they don't interfere in human life, they don't interfere in human death. If they have no interference in human affairs why should humans fear their interference later, and if they are not concerned with human affairs why should humans be concerned with them? He denied and dismissed Greek religion as mere mythology. He believes that if the gods were divine and immortal they have no need, no time, and no interest to interfere in human life, because they are outside it and live in another realm. "They dwell in no world but in the spaces which separate one world from another."1 He views happiness as a freedom from pain and attaining virtuous desires which are desires that are necessary such as food and sleep, etc. Epicurus believes that the mind and soul perishes when the body does, therefore there is no way one survives after death in anyway and he finds it silly for someone intellectual to believe in a judgement after death where one will be rewarded and punished for one's own actions in their lifetime. Lucretius presented a symmetry argument in
Why and In What Ways Did Medieval European Attitudes Towards Death Change With the Advancement of the Reformation?
Why and In What Ways Did Medieval European Attitudes Towards Death Change With the Advancement of the Reformation? Death is the most certain of all universal truths. It's shadow can be seen cast over almost all aspects of life. No matter what culture you come from, there is a certain formula that is followed when dealing with death. For humans within a society, deaths' affects are recognized on a personal level (person to person), within a family, within the greater society, it's economy, government, and religion. Personal grief must be dealt with when a loved one is lost. The entire family may grieve, even when separated by distance. The loss of one member of a society can have a heavy impact especially if the person lost is of community importance. This loss also opens up a gap in the social and family structure of status that must be mended and filled. This in turn affects the economy, which in turn can effect the government which, during medieval times, went hand in hand with religion. It is to be made clear that death affected religion in both large and small (local) circles. It may sound strange to modern American sensibilities but religion, the economy, and government during the Middle Ages were not strange bedfellows. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) made sure of that. But as humans advanced in technology and freethinking abounded, the doctrines of the RCC
Capital punishment.
Capital punishment is most severe form of justice, the death penalty. It is the punishment given to the convicted criminals who have committed a capital offence. This punishment exists mainly because it is a huge deterrent against 'would be' criminals. Many countries have abolished it as a punishment. Some people believe it is inhumane and morally wrong for a society who frowns upon murderers to murder others. Some criminals could be wrongly convicted; there is no redress for innocent man. Some think that we are a civilized society that should not kill to solve our problems. There are many different reasons why countries such as the U.K have abolished it as a punishment. The documentary "14 Days in May" focused the issue of capital punishment. This documentary shows the life of the convicted murderer Edward Earl Johnson awaiting the death penalty on Death Row in the Parchment State Penitentiary, Mississippi. A film crew followed the last fortnight of his life on death row before being put into the gas chamber on the 20th May 1987. We see the last days of his life as he and his legal team struggle to prove his innocence. The death penalty was abolished in the USA until it was reinstated in 1976. The USA is in league with countries such as Iran, Turkey, South Africa and China, which all use capital punishment. Edward Earl Johnson a twenty-six year old black man claimed he was
Examine at least 2 reasons for believing in life after death
Examine at least 2 reasons for believing in life after death (12) There is one thing on which all philosophers agree: " our earthly life in our current physical form will end"(Jordan). According to Collins English dictionary death is "the perminent end of all functions of life in an organism." Many people accept death as the end of any form of existence. Others would argue that death is not the end of life, and that we continue in some form after death. However, there are various reasons for believing in live after death, all of which differ in nature. Some believe the existence of an afterlife is necessary on, moral grounds. Immanuel Kant taught that when we look about the world we see many injustices that seemingly go unpunished. Kant based his argument on a similar question: why do some people who lead an almost sinless life end up being killed at an early age or die of rape, and some who sin all through their life die rich and happy? The fact that many injustices go unpunished in the world, led to Kant (and Hick) to adopt a belief in an afterlife as a "necessary postulate." In other words, people believe and see life after death as a place where unjust and just will be finally dealt with. However this argument is very vulnerable to criticisms. People do not like the idea of being treated unfairly and would always prefer to believe that injustice will always be overcome
'14 Days in May' - A Biased Report.
'14 Days in May' - A Biased Report Capital punishment is being punished in the worst possible way, by being put to death. Capital punishment has been around for many centuries. Although some see it as a deterrent, it has yet to be proven. With the exception of Turkey and the United States, the whole of NATO do not wish to use this method of punishment upon their criminals. At this moment in time, Iran and South Africa top the list of the legal killers. Although some think that the United States are the worst in dishing out capital punishment to their criminals, they are in a completely different league in comparison with Iran and South Africa. The documentary that we watched, '14 Days in May', was attempting to get the viewers against the idea of capital punishment. This documentary was very biased in that sense. The documentary showed the viewers what it was like from the view point of the convicted felon in an attempt to get the viewers against capital punishment. The documentary, '14 Days in May', was based upon the last 14 days in the life of a 28 year old black man called Edward Earl Johnson, hence the name 14 Days in May. He was a convicted murderer. Edward Earl Johnson, 18 years old at time, was accused of assaulting a white woman at her home at Walnut Grove, Mississippi and later killing local town marshal, Jake Trest, who had been passing at the time and had tried
Outline the arguments for and against life after death? Assess the significance of the following: reincarnation, resurrection and the immortality of the soul?
Belief in life after death has taken many forms, some which are unique in particular religious belief systems, though; others can be found in more than one religion. 'For most religions, life after death is an article of faith. In Western religions, the belief is founded in scriptural evidence, but for all religions the belief in life after death is the same: life after death has been promised to humans by an all powerful'1 There are many views of life after death in particular which have been much adhered to and much discussed by philosophers. This essay will attempt to put forward some of the key ideas and arguments for and against life after death. One view of life after death does have a venerable philosophical history. It can be found in Plato's Phaedo. Here we are presented with the figure of Socrates who is about to drink poison because he has been condemned to death. His friends are grief stricken but Socrates assures them that he is perfectly able to survive death. His friends ask Socrates how he wants to buried and he responds to them by saying "however you wish, provided you catch me, that is, and I don't get away from you". Socrates is distinguishing himself and his body, which is soon to be lifeless. He is clearly thinking of his real self as something distinct from his body. So according to this argument we shall survive as a disembodied self. Many
Capital punishment is barbaric and inhumane.
Capital punishment is barbaric and inhumane and should not be re-introduced into Australia. Although capital punishment has been abolished, the debate on this topic has never abated. When a particularly heinous crime is committed, this debate arouses strong passions on both sides. Many who advocate the abolition of capital punishment consider the death penalty to be cruel and inhuman, while those who favor of punishment by death see it as a form of just retribution for the gravest of crimes. Determining whether Queensland should re-introduce capital punishment as a sentence will be the focus of this assignment. Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime. In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principally, treason and murder, that is, the deliberate premeditated killing of another person. In the early 18th and 19th century the death penalty was inflicted in many ways. Some ways were, crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearing asunder, stoning and drowning. In the late 19th century the types of punishments were limited and only a few of them remained permissible by law. In
Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868
Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868 We, as a society, have a long history of death as the ultimate punishment. In Britain it was in use as an answer to murder right up until 1965. Over time it transgressed, from being simple retribution for a crime against ones person and/or property, to being both this and a deterrent to others considering the same. Thus the spectacle of death was created, not so much as a form of punishment for the individual, but more as a show of what would happen if others chose to follow him. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries England had over 200 capital offences, collectively known as the 'Bloody Code', although the sheer number is, in itself, misleading. The offences were very particular and due to this and the fact that in over 90 per cent of cases pardons were given1, they were gradually eroded. The Offences Against the Person Act in 1861 finally removed the death penalty for all crimes except murder and treason. Public executions were big events in London with attendance rivalling many well known political meetings of the time2. According to Emsley these levels would have been increased, in part, because of the growth of the press in the period3. They reached more and more people, the hangings advertised within their pages, encouraging the masses to attend. Whilst all people who chose to go to an execution generally went
Death Penalty Opinion.
Death Penalty Opinion The Death Penalty has been around since and before the Americas were found. Even though it has been in affect for hundreds of years, I do not feel it is at all right. The methods are cruel and in some cases, very painful for the inmate. most people think the death penalty is a good way of justice in the United States, and it issaid to be a humane way of execution, but from what I have found, it is far from humane. Since 1976, 549 people have have been executed by lethal injection, 149 by electrocution, 11 by gas chamber, 3 by hanging, and 2 by the firing squad. Of the 714 people executed in the United States, 332 were in Texas and Virginia alone. After World War II, many countries left the practices of capital punishment. The United States did not stop the practice of capital punshment. If there is a slight mistake, in any of the executions, the inmate feels even more pain than usual. The gas chamber is one of the most painful of executions. "At first there is evidence of extreme horror, pain, and strangling. The eyes pop. The skin turns purple and the victim begins to drool"(Duffy, Clifton-San Quenton Penitentiary warden). If done wrong, hanging can be just as horrific as the gas chamber. If the rope is to long, the body can be decapitated. If the rope is to short, the inmate can sufficate for as long as 45 minutes. Electrocution is a very common way of
Explain some of the main beliefs that Christians have about Forgiveness/ Reconciliation and Justice.
RE COURSEWORK 1 JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION Kerry Teesdale Christ the King Catholic High School RE COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT 1 JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION Skill AO1- knowledge about beliefs Explain some of the main beliefs that Christians have about Forgiveness/ Reconciliation and Justice In Christianity there is a lot of emphasis on forgiveness, however this does not rule out the teaching of justice. Justice can be defined as different situations which are handled or solved in a morally right or fair way. It is also the quality of being reasonable. Forgiveness can be defined as the power to forget someone's sin and to stop being angry with a person who has done wrong. The belief of Christianity is that we can all forgive one-another as God forgives all our sins (by reconciliation). Jesus' death was an extremely relevant lesson of forgiveness. "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing" said by Jesus moments before dying. This gives an example of how we can forgive, if Jesus forgave the Romans for mocking and humiliating him and most importantly for nailing him to the cross. There are two separate teachings of the bible, each come from the New Testament and the other from the Old Testament. The Old Testament teaches "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". However the New Testament teaches "turn the other cheek, forgive your enemy". In the New