1) Introduction Through out history, as man progressed from a primitive animal to a "human being" capable of thought and reason, mankind has had to throw questions about the meaning of our own existence to ourselves. Out of those trail of thoughts appeared religion, art, and philosophy,...

What is a Human Being? There are three main viewpoints in argument on what a human being is. Those viewpoints are empirical, rational and metaphorical. Empiricists base their views on observation and experimentation. Rationalists rely on reason as the best guide for belief and action. A me...

Every single society in the world has had the innate necessity to find out the origin of their existence and the world that surrounds them. Several American Indian tribes have done it through stories which narrate the beginning of human beings, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, death and al...

The debate on whether abortion is right has remained a longstanding source of contention among members of the various fronts of our society. On one hand, proponents claim of the view that making abortion illegal is a contradiction to the ability by women to enjoy their right to life and freedom of c...

The speed in which the field of genetics has expanded in the society of today, is quite overwhelming. The progress in science has offered many benefits over the course of human history. It removed deceptive sources of fear, groundless superstitions, misconceptions, and also helped people to under...

Abortion has been a controversial issue since the idea was first introduced. The main issue of the debate is whether a woman's right to choose outweighs the unborn fetus's right to live. The right for a woman to have an abortion is part of a much broader issue: the right for a woman ...

Prayer and meditation have always formed the core of the mystical life, but they have all too often been left in the realm of the "vowed" adherents, the monks, the priests, and such, other than for that occasional gathering in church or other event. Meditation and prayer are probably humanity's mo...

The director John Carpenter entitled his 1982 remake of Howard Hawks 1951 "The Thing from Another World" simply "The Thing." Carpenter's new, shortened title significantly eliminates the alien origin of the protean monster that terrorizes the human characters of the film. T...

Perfect Misunderstanding: As Understood by Epistle I of "An Essay on Man" Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man" is a crowning achievement, as it enjoys, simultaneously, the arching comprehensiveness of a distinguished volume, and the judicious simplicity of poetry. Bri...

During the past decade, genetic engineering has been a very controversial issue facing our world that ultimately questions our power as humans to control nature. Genetic engineering has many potential benefits, such as curing all diseases, growing more food, and altering our genes, but these advan...

Hobbes' state of war is the basis for his philosophical discourse on human nature. Where Rousseau says that man is compassionate and good to others in his nature, Hobbes argues that man is only out for himself. When the point comes where two men want the same thing, they become enemies of eac...

Andrew and Helen In our continuous discussion of ethics and death Benjamin, in chapter 7 of Philosophy and this Actual World, asks us to imagine a case where a child, Andrew, is born with anencephaly, " ... a condition in which the embryologic closure of the neural tube never completes, leav...

Religion has been a very important part of cultures here on Earth. Since the formation of human civilizations religion has affected world events. While most civilizations have different religions, many of them have several things in common. Many of the religions have some of the basic beliefs whil...

ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY On the time scale of the history of the Earth an individual human lifetime is a mere blink of an eye. We're born, we live, and we die. What is the point of living? If we're all going to be dead in the end anyway, what difference does it make what we do with our lives? Does the f...

In Philip Hefner's article Cloning as Quintessential Human Act he claims that cloning of humans is acceptable if it is done with great care, with special attention given to the fact that one does not destroy the "spiritual dimension of life". Hefner presents several arguments in his s...

I, a senior medical officer in Ottawa, have been approached by a group of people who have survived a devastating biological weapons attack. I thought that I was the sole survivor of this attack but am relieved to find out there are seven other survivors. The group of seven survivors do not know h...

Moses Virella Inst: Nicole G. Fernandez "How Far Have We Gone?" Audience: Government Agencies English I Birth is one of Gods greatest and oldest ...

Rituals are a significant part of our society and the way we live our lives. They are important because they give us a sense of security and loyalty to a group. Rituals are also a main aspect of religion, and studying the differences among cultures helps us gain a greater understanding of how ritual...

For centuries, society has placed stereotypes on those individuals who are different. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is an example of one specific stereotype, which is the discrimination of a person because of a physical deformity. Frankenstein shows how social prejudices against physical de...

The word religion comes from the Latin term 'religio' meaning a type of bond. It suggests a precious connection with the divine Lord. One must reflect on the true aim, goal, and purpose of religion to gain a better understanding of it. 'Religion is not just some dry intellectual idea but rather y...

A man dies. His community's culture deems that he be buried in holy ground lest the community suffer some catastrophe. He, having always been at odds with his community on this point, has left a provision in his will that he be cremated and his ashes scattered into the ocean. The body waits in the h...

Hinduism and Christianity The world is filled with many religions and beliefs. Some religions have close similarities and some are extremely different. The world is a complicated place that we as human beings have been trying to understand since our species began on this earth. Religion has...

One might begin by defining religion as a system of beliefs based on human beings' effort to elucidate the universe and natural phenomena, frequently linking one or more divine beings or other mystical forces and also entailing or binding devotees to pursue set religious commitments. Neverthel...

The Cloning War: Moral or Immoral? Outside the lab where the cloning had actually taken place, most of us thought it could never happen. Oh we would say that perhaps at some point in the distant future, cloning might become feasible through the use of sophisticated biotechnologies far beyond th...

Life or Death The beliefs and views of our country are hypocritical and unjust. As we grow from a young child to a mature adult, we are taught many things such as that killing another human being is wrong, it is against the law and goes against most people's religious beliefs. Yet, there...