Tony At 10: THE HUMAN CONDITION; BLOG # 2032; FRI. APR,13,2018

THE MESSAGE:

What and who are we?

A very broad topic which invites thought and discussion from many perspectives. The term "Human Condition' is often referred to in a literary framework. Books and essays have been dedicated to cover philosophical issues such as the meaning of life. The theme usually centres on moral concerns or ethical responsibilities. As a result many writings have been centred on religious beliefs. Others trace this concept through anthropological and historical perspectives, or Scientific and psychological studies.

On another note, I really don't believe that mankind has more freedom in today's capitalistic world. We simply have more tools that help us overcome trials and tribulations. Our caves may be bigger and better equipped but some of our morals and values have slipped.

THE BLURB:

RELIGION

Each major religion has definitive beliefs regarding the human condition.

BUDDHISM

This religion originated in Ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BC . It spread through much of Asia; however, it declined in India during the Middle Ages. The four Buddhist truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and path are true for enlightened beings. They are not true for the common man who doesn’t understand that life is suffering.

Man has a tendency to crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which are temporary and incapable of satisfying and therefore painful. This keeps us trapped in an endless cycle of the rebirth of temporary states and things, some of which may be pleasant, and then dying again. Therefore this cycle cannot lead us to real happiness. Buddhism is the correct path to liberation from this endless cycle and leads us to the state of Nirvana.

CHRISTIANITY

By contrast, these religions teach that humans are born in a sinful condition and are doomed in the afterlife unless they receive salvation through following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

ISLAM
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God, Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful and unique. God has guided mankind through prophets, revealed scriptures and natural signs. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the actual words of God, and the teachings of Muhammad. Islam also teaches a final judgment with the righteous rewarded paradise and unrighteous punished in hell.

My conclusion has to be that all spiritual traditions are different paths to the same mountaintop. Back in my University days at U of T, I took a Religious Knowledge course from Father David Belyea. He often lectured on a concept that is more prevalent today. "Man's Inhumanity to Man". If we spent more time contemplating empathy, tolerance, differences and acceptance, our societies would be more progressive and less prone to the evils that accompany greed, selfishness and envy.

PHILOSOPHY

Philosophers have provided many perspectives.

PLATO

Plato explored the question "what is justice?" He postulated that JUSTICE is not primarily a matter among individuals but of society as a whole. Accordingly he devised the concept of utopia.

He believed that the goal of the laws was to bring about the greatest possible happiness in the city.

RENÉ DESCARTES

Declared "I think, therefore I am" because he believed the human mind, with its faculty of reason, was the primary determiner of truth.

JACK KIRBY

Attempted to solve the issue of problem children with his essay entitled "What is Truth?"

EXISTENTIALISM

One modern school of philosophy that attempts to reconcile an individual's sense of disorientation and confusion to a universe believed to be absurd.

It developed and flourished in Europe during the 1940s and 1950s, in a post-war context in which many people felt disillusioned with organized religion and society and felt like life had no real meaning or purpose.

LITERATURE

Many works of literature provide perspective on the human condition. One example is Shakespeare's monologue "All the world's a stage" that pensively summarizes seven phases of human life. Here is the beginning:

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms....
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school......

And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad.....
Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. .......

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology has many theories, such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the notion of identity crisis.

Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emergy 1979

Cognitive behavioral therapy, has become a widespread treatment for clinical depression.

People respond to situations based on how these situations are consciously and automatically evaluated in terms of relevant underlying beliefs.

Cognitions (verbal or pictorial “events” in a person’s stream of consciousness) are based on attitudes or assumptions (schemas), developed from previous experiences.

SCIENCE

CHARLES DARWIN

Ever since 1859, when he published the Origin of Species, the biological theory of evolution has been A significant contribution to the question. The theory posits that the human species is related to all others, living and extinct, and that natural selection is the primary survival factor. This has provided a basis for new beliefs such as social Darwinism, and for new technologies in medicine e.g. antibiotics.

THE QUESTION: