The Meaning of Lives Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Lives Essay In her article The Meaning of Lives, Susan Wolf, a moral philosopher and philosopher of action, investigates whether meaning can exist in lives without postulating the existance of God. Wolf establishes her position on this philosophical question from an agnostic perspective and rationally argues that such a question can in fact â€Å"fit within a negative or agnostic view about the meaning of life† (Wolf 63). With this paper, I will first summarize the prominent points of Wolf’s article then highlight and expound upon areas of her argument that contradict her line of reason. Lastly, I will introduce the theistic perspective on meaningful lives along with presenting Wolf’s reason and argument as supporting evidence for the theistic view. In the Meaning of Lives, Susan Wolf opens briefly with an evaluation of the philosophically ambiguous question, â€Å"What is the meaning of life? † She argues this particular question is impossible to rationalize because it dependents upon a postulation for the existence of God. Wolf claims it is necessary to postulate the existence of God in order to argue this original question because if God does exist, then He â€Å"may have created us for a reason, with a plan in mind†(Wolf 63). Thus, if God exists then there would be purpose and meaning to human existence dependent upon the creator God. Wolf does not deny the existence of God; she simply suggests that a divine existence is improvable. Therefore the question of a grand purpose and meaning in life is an unnecessary and an improvable argument to find an answer to, due to the improvable nature of God. However, she does believe that meaning in lives is not contingent upon the existence of God stating, â€Å"Meaningfulness is an intelligible feature to be sought in life† and that â€Å"a positive view about the possibility of meaning in lives can fit with a negative or agnostic view about the meaning of life†(Wolf 63). She expounds on this argument in three distinct sections. The first part of Wolf’s argument observes three different examples of meaningless lifestyle. Wolf articulates that learning from three paradigms of meaningless lives, one can construct an understanding for meaningfulness. She begins with a lifestyle she labeled the Blob. The Blob is defined by a lifestyle that â€Å"is lived in hazy passivity†¦ unconnected to anyone or anything, going nowhere, achieving nothing† (Wolf 64). Wolf deduces from the Blobs meaningless lifestyle, that in order to attain a meaningful life one must be engaged in a project, which can include relationships. The second meaningless lifestyle, in contrast to the Blob’s lifestyle of passivity, is regarded as the Useless life; â€Å"a life whose dominant activities seem pointless, useless or empty† (Wolf 65). After reviewing the lifestyle of the Useless life, a life void of worth, to achieve meaning â€Å"one must be engaged in a project or projects that have some positive value† (Wolf 65). The final category of a meaningless life would be the lifestyle of the Bankrupt, â€Å"someone who is engaged or even dedicated, to a project that is ultimately revealed as bankrupt, not because the person’s values are shallow or misguided, but because the project fails†(Wolf 65). Ultimately, Wolf concludes that in order to achieve meaningfulness one must not only be engaged in a project of positive value but that project must be in some way successful. After providing a working definition for a meaningful life, Wolf raises the question as to what constitutes â€Å"positive value† and who has the right to objectively determine value. Similarly to Wolf’s construction of meaningfulness, she argues reasons for why an individual is incapable of objectively determining positive value. This incapability for determining objective value is due to the individual’s subjectivity and â€Å"interest in living a life that feels or seems meaningful†(Wolf 66). Therefore, because an individual is incapable of distinguishing objective positive value from interest, it is unlikely that the individual can distinguish what is required for a meaningful life. She argues that objective value is determined and achieved through observing value in other people’s lives. Wolf clarifies that the objective good she is referring to is not compared to moral goodness, â€Å"benefiting or honoring humanity† (Wolf 67). Wolf claims that meaningfulness is not contingent upon moral value. Instead, Wolf suggests that while there are examples of lives exhibiting great moral value, such as Mother Teresa and Gandhi, that are full of meaning; there are also examples of other lives, such as â€Å"artists, scholars, musicians and athletes†, that possess great meaning, not based upon their moral value. These lives are considered valuable and meaningful due to their ability to â€Å"develop our skills and our understanding of the world† which â€Å"give meaning to our lives- but they do not give moral value to them †(Wolf 67). A greater understanding of our own worth and the Universe is what Wolf constitutes for lives to have meaning. The final stage in Wolf’s argument poses the question â€Å"what is the good, after all, of living a meaningful life†(Wolf 67)? Wolf does not wish to define goodness, but rather discusses the advantages for living a life full of meaning. Wolf makes the final stand, that in order to grasp meaningfulness and understand how one can achieve it in their life; an individual must become enlightened to their status in the world as â€Å"a tiny speck in a vast universe† (Wolf 69). This description of where an individual lies in relation to the vastness of the Universe, provides the reality that meaning in lives cannot logically be contingent upon the desires and benefits for the individual, due to humanities insignificance. It seems illogical to Wolf, that a person who seeks to find meaning in their life could conclude that is dependent upon their independent happiness claiming, â€Å"to devote oneself wholly to one’s own satisfaction seems to me to fly in the face of truth, to act as if one is the only thing that matters, or perhaps, more, that one’s own psychology is the only source of (determining) what matters† (Wolf 70). The truth, to which Wolf refers, is the reality that individuals have very little significance in relation to the value of the vast Universe. It is because of this truth that a self-center and egocentric life goes against of logic after such a truth is realized. Wolf argues that instead of egocentric priorities to achieve meaning, an individual should alternatively be focused on the needs of the Universe and others. She understands that â€Å"you are just one person among others, equally real- is the source of practical reason-in this case, it gives you reason to take the pains of others to constitute reasons for action†¦reason to care about the pain of others that is grounded, not in our own psychologies, but a fact about the world†(Wolf 70). In this section, I will address three areas of Wolf’s reasoning I find to be inconsistent with her argument as a whole. A concern that I have regarding Wolf’s argument is her use of the word â€Å"meaning†, in regards to the meaning of lives. A very different connotation of the word â€Å"meaning† suggested by the philosophical question, â€Å"What is the meaning of life? † Wolf states that the question, â€Å"What is the meaning of life? † requires an individual to postulate the existence of God because it implies their ultimate aim â€Å"to find a purpose or a point to human existence†(Wolf 63). However, Wolf also argues, â€Å"whether or not God exists, the fact remains that some objects, activities and ideas are better than others. Whether or not God exists some ways of living are more worthwhile than others†(Wolf 72). At the beginning of Wolf’s argument about the meaning of lives, suggests that she neither denies nor rejects the existence of God. She argues this as true because she believes the question behind the meaning in lives can be answered as â€Å"an intelligible feature to be sought in life and that it is at least sometimes attainable but not everywhere assured†(Wolf 63). Wolf reduces the meaning of lives to that which can be determined by human reasoning a finite measurement of this transitory world. Thus Wolf, who has neither denied nor rejected the existence of God has unreasonably eliminated the question of origin of lives, as irrelevant to meaning in lives. She focuses how certain types of lives merit significance in existence and consequently refers to the word â€Å"meaning† as synonymous with value. Finally, Wolf argues that there is value in human lives that â€Å"can fit with a negative or agnostic view about the meaning of life†(Wolf 66). This statement is far less controversial than her attempts to argue that meaning in lives is achievable without the postulation of God. Logically, to explore meaning in lives, one must consider the beginning of life, which must have been constructed either by accident or by a creator. Meaning cannot be cited as more or less significant at a particular point in an individual’s life. Thus, the point that one comes into existence must be regarded for defining meaning within an individual’s life. The second problem in Wolf’s argument comes in her evaluation of what is considered a project of positive value. An individual who is engaged in a project of positive value is central to Wolf’s definition of a meaningful life. Although, projects of positive value can add to meaning in an individual’s life, Wolf’s reasoning as to â€Å"who is to decide which projects have positive value† is vague and inconsistent with her earlier positions (Wolf 66). Wolf concludes that individuals are incapable of objectively deciding what has positive value, due to subjective interests, which skew their understanding of objective value. Wolf deduces that in order for an individual to understand projects of positive value, which will eventually adds meaning to heir lives, they must experience an â€Å"epiphany†¦ to the recognition that our life to date has been meaningless† (Wolf 66). This comment is completely inconsistent with Wolf’s fundamental goal to acquire an understanding of meaning in lives from an intelligible process of reason. The understanding for projects of positive value through an epiphany is inconsistent with her pervious arguments because it depends she suggests that understanding meaning comes from an unintelligible source of knowledge. Who is to say that that epiphany is not guided by a supreme higher being? The irony of Wolf’s conclusion about the necessary epiphany, is that her statement â€Å"It is the sort of experience that one might describe in terms of scales falling from ones eyes†, compares closely to the allusion found in Acts 9:18 (Wolf 66). The verse reads â€Å"And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized† (NIV 1000). The language of scales falling from the eyes in order to gain true understanding is regarded in both versions as an act depended upon a supernatural entity enabling the change. This very interesting comment by Wolf, suggests that understanding how an individual recognizes truth through epiphany is beyond the capabilities of human control and intellect. Her attempted arguments about how a meaningful life is realized are sound up until the point about epiphany. Lastly, Wolf’s argument for meaning in lives lacks any discussion of immortality as a necessary property for meaning. Wolf reasons that there are certain lifestyles that are more meaningful than others. This argument for certain lifestyle having greater meaning has limited relevance because as she rationalizes, lives are finite and temporary as are the lives of others whom we must focus in our acknowledgement of the truth that we are just a â€Å"speck in the vast Universe†(Wolf 69). Wolf does a fine job at articulating the insignificance and temporary state of human life. However, she fails to recognize that in her attempts to construct a logical framework for meaning in finite lives she disregards the possibility for immortality to give further meaning to lives. Thus, she reduces the idea of meaning as an avoidance of an egocentric lifestyle and recognizes insignificance and meaning within an individuals’ life alone. Wolf’s claim that meaning is attainable through certain actions only satisfies temporary lives for a finite amount of time. This argument surrounding meaning as dependent upon an inward realization of insignificance manifesting into outward actions, is simply a cycle of meaningless people helping other meaningless people, and causes only a temporary impact. In an argument for the importance of immortality to meaning in lives, Gianluca Di Muzio states, â€Å"If a human being dies and her actions have no lasting effect, because the world itself perished, then her life was meaningless. If, in the end, all comes to nothing, then it does not matter in the first place whether a particular person existed or not† (Di Muzio 2). In order for actions and lives to be meaningful, they must have a lasting impact or something to gain, and provide for others in a way that is not reducible to the finite and temporary world. Thus, achievable immortality must exist for meaning to be possible. Although she attempts to determine the meaning in lives for an agnostic world, I would argue that Wolf’s argument actually supports many theistic views regarding the meaning of lives. Though many of Wolf’s arguments do not adequately provide understanding for meaning in lives from an agnostic perspective, many of her points parallel to the theistic view of â€Å"purpose theory. † Before I expound on these similarities, an understanding of the theistic view regarding the meaning of must be addressed. According to Borchert, the theistic view argues that, â€Å"life is meaningful insofar as one fulfills a purpose that God has assigned† (Borchert 295). In â€Å"Confession†, Leo Tolstoy discusses meaning in life from the theistic perspective and claims â€Å"now I see clearly that my faith-my only real faith-that which apart from my animal instincts gave impulse to my life- was a belief in perfecting myself† (Klemke 2). Tolstoy sought such perfection in artistic achievements and loving his family. In trying to find meaning in family and people, Tolstoy ultimately realizes that â€Å"My family — wife and children — are also human. They are placed just as I am: they must either live in a lie or see the terrible truth† (Klemke 10). In other words, Tolstoy realizes that if meaning resides in the finite and temporary nature of humanity, meaning too will die along with the life. Tolstoy further suggests that meaning cannot reside within artistic modes when he writes Art, poetry? Under the influence of success and the praise of men, I had long assured myself that this was a thing one could do though death was drawing near — death which destroys all things, including my work and its remembrance; but soon I saw that that too was a fraud† (Klemke 10). This declaration further supports Tolstoy’s theistic belief that everything of and in this world cannot be the ultimate source of meaning in lives. Although, the substance of this world may increase value within life, it cannot supply ultimate, enduring meaning. Tolstoy finally declares, â€Å"To know God and to live is one and the same thing. God is life- Live seeking God, and then you will not live without God† (Klemke 11). This passage concludes with his theistic assertion that without a â€Å"divine plan for the world, then all efforts come to nothing, because everything comes to nothing. Hence our lives are meaningless without God† (Metz 293). Though Wolf attempts to support an agnostic view for the question, â€Å"is there meaning in lives? † her central points mirror those of the theistic view and supports many of its claims. This final section will concentrate on central points within Wolf’s argument that support a theistic view for understanding meaning in lives. To begin, she claims that a life has meaning insofar as it is â€Å"engaged in a project or projects that have some positive value† (Wolf 65). Although this statements seems logical, Wolf fails to provide an intelligible source for acquiring knowledge about whether or not a project has positive value and which projects do not. She betrays the agnostic attempt to provide an understanding of meaning in lives through reason, by suggesting that realization of projects with positive value relies upon an epiphany. The concept of an epiphany for realization is inconsistent with her attempts to rationalize. However, when Wolf’s definition is placed against the theistic view, it is logically consistent with theological beliefs. Theists believe that an individual must be actively engaged in positively affecting peoples lives with in the world, while ultimately contributing to God’s divine plan in order for their lives to have meaning. This concept is articulated beautifully in Gianluca Di Muzio’s argument: Theism and the Meaning of Life, in which he states, â€Å"In order to have meaning, our lives must make a difference to a higher scheme. And theism sees human action as doing a sort of double duty. On one hand, they affect other people and events in this world, on the other, they further or hinder God’s ultimate plan† (Di Muzio 2). This statement suggests that humanities actions in projects have the ability to have two different forms of significance, both relative and ultimate. Relative significance refers to the theistic perspective that, â€Å"actions and events have relative significance when they only influence other actions and events†(Di Muzio 3). Ultimate significance is when our actions and events â€Å"contribute to God’s plan† (Di Muzio 3). Both of these forms contribute to theistic view, however Wolf’s argument focuses solely on relative significance. The theistic understanding of relative significance is paralleled to Wolf’s understanding of meaning in lives. She believes that when individuals realize their insignificance and begin to seek beyond themselves for meaning by actively engaging in projects of positive value, they can acquire meaning. Though this insignificance is transient, it supports the theistic belief that, â€Å"human beings have access to value† without having to postulate the existence of God, because â€Å"existence affords the opportunity to attain the kinds of goods that make a human life worthwhile and fulfilling† (Di Muzio 5-6). Wolf’s profound point that human life is just a â€Å"speck in a vast universe† lays the foundation for the theistic belief in ultimate significance (Wolf 71). Theists believe that there is A fundamental disproportion between aspirations and reality is a powerful source of the idea that our lives are absurd and meaningless. We think we matter, and yet we don’t. The world is not intoned with our hope, desires and projects. The possibility of out destruction looms everywhere; and human suffering, however enormous, seems to be nothing but a passing accident, a byproduct of the presence of sentient creatures in a world that merely tolerates them for a short time. (Di Muzio 9) This understanding of human insignificance plays a vital role in the theistic belief that despite human fragility, purpose and significance are achievable within the most tragic circumstances. Wolf’s recognition of our insignificance implies our need to look beyond our own lives for meaning. If a life of meaning depends upon recognizing the truth about our insignificance and continuing to be â€Å"actively engaged in a project of positive value†, and one cannot perform these projects due to tragic circumstances, then within Wolf’s reasoning their life can not have meaning. Wolf’s understanding of meaning depends upon individual human performance. In trying times of suffering, whether great or small, this concept of looking outside of ones own circumstances is hard to accomplish and in some circumstances impossible, thus in such cases meaning cannot be unachieved. The theistic view of ultimate significance provides a hope that a life of suffering can have meaning and purpose too in that, â€Å"the idea of God and hope for immortality can help us look again at the world and our fragile lives as meaningful†(Di Muzio 9). The project of participating in God’s divine plan is the only project that has lasting and unwavering value for meaning in lives. Wolf’s central argument concerning meaning in lives provides many logically convincing and sound points. However, Wolf’s definition of a life of meaning is both disconnected from her original argument and lacks a consistent, authoritative source and process for achieving meaning. She attempts to suggest that meaning is an â€Å"intelligible feature to be sought in life†, then provides the solution for achieving this insight of through the unintelligible source of epiphany. Secondly, Wolf’s argument for the realization of insignificance as the truth, unlocks the need for an individual to look beyond serving his or her own self-centered desires for meaning. However, though her point about insignificance seems valid, Wolf fails to provide examples or an understanding of how an individual can objectively determine how to look outside of themselves. In total, Wolf produces an understanding of meaning that depends upon an individuals abilities to undergo an epiphany and properly manifest their understanding of the need to look outside one’s self and recognize Universal needs. The problem with this stance is that focusing on the Universe provides no lasting impact, or meaning to a particular life because the things of this Universe are finite and temporary. The individual’s life will eventually end along with the actions and events they affected. Though existence can provide an opportunity for value, as understood in Wolf’s argument and the theistic view, meaning is dependent upon a infinite being whose performance can not be temporary. An individual must not be reliant on their personal performances and finite experiences to obtain meaning, but rather is actively engaged in an eternal project of positive value, determined by an infinite and constant authority, God. Works Cited Borchert, Donald M. Theism. Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2nd ed. 10. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Web. 25 Apr 2012. Di Muzio, Gianluca. Theism and the Meaning of Life life’s meaning? Ars Disputandi . 6. (2006): 1-12. Print. Klemke, E. D. â€Å"The Meaning of Life†. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Metz, Thaddeus. â€Å"Could God’s purpose be the source of life’s meaning? † Cambridge Journals. (2000): 293-311. Print. Wolf, Susan. The Meaning Of Lives. 62-73. Print.

Immigrants Do NOT Increase Crime Rates Essay -- Undocumented Immagrant

The thought of arriving immigrants in any host country has been accompanied by reactions of exclusion, and continues to expand throughout the years. During any social illness, immigrants tend to be the first to be held responsible by their recipient societies. Most crimes are associated with immigrants due to the fact that they may not posses the same socio-economics status as natives. Another contributing factor is the media that conducts numerous stories that highlight the image of immigrant crimes to recall the alleged difference between native and foreign born. Undoubtedly, the correlation between immigration and crime has become one of the most controversial discussions in current society. As we enter a new era, immigrants will have more impact on society than ever before (Feldmeyer, 2009). There can be numerous reasons to believe immigrants are more prone to commit crimes, for example, they have to learn to adapt into the cultural traits and social patterns of the harboring country, as natives do not (Desmond & Kubrin, 2009). However, despite such claims, empirical studies have revealed that immigrants are understated in criminal statistics. Throughout the years many texts and scholarly articles have been published further analyzing and proving that immigrants are less prone to committing crimes than their native peers. Furthermore, researchers examine the reason as to why immigrants are weighed as a whole even though ethnic groups among immigrants have different rates of crime. For example, Hispanic immigrants are far more prone to commit crimes than a Japanese immigrant. This makes it unfair to consider that because a Japanese is an immigrant, they are also more prone to commit crimes. Much like in the past, the publ... ...untries. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 52,115-131 http://cos.sagepub.com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/52/1-2/114 Desmond, S. A., & Kubrin, C. E. (2009). THE POWER OF PLACE: Immigrant communities and adolescent violence, The Sociological Quarterly, 50, 581-607 http://www.gwu.edu/~soc/docs/Kubrin/Immig_Communities.pdf Feldmeyer, B. (2009). Immigration and violence: The offsetting effects of immigrant concentration on Latino violence. Social Science Research, 38, 717-731 http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/tmp/9506051508484483171.pdf Nielsen, A. L., & Martinez, R. (2011). Nationality, immigrant groups, and arrest: Examining the diversity of arrestees for urban violent crime. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 27, 343-360 http://ccj.sagepub.com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/27/3/342

Woman as Artist, Subject, or Patron in Baroque Art

Many elements must come together for a painting to be considered successful. Perhaps paramount in 17th century Europe were the guidelines set forth for art following the Council of Trent: Clarity, realism and emotional stimulus. Many artists fulfilled these requirements in their own ways: Rubens employed his mastery of drawing, while Caravaggio masked his apparent lack of skill by inventing a new way of painting, tenebrism (Caravaggism). While clarity could be established relatively easily, this doesn't mean images had to be simple.One of the most complex elements of Baroque painting is the use of women as subjects, particularly women of power, be they royal, biblical, or artists themselves. Artemisia Genteleschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes (1620) presents a female painter drawing on her own experiences to depict a heroine defeating a great enemy as only a lady could. Peter Paul Rubens' Medici Cycle (1622-25), specifically The Presentation of Her Portrait to Henry IV, shows the produ ct of a woman patron trying to glorify herself as a queen and justify her political ideals while being presented quite literally as an object to her husband-to-be.Finally, Diego Valazquez's Las Meninas (1656), a royal family portrait focusing on the daughter of Philip the IV and Mariana of Spain, but using the commission as a vehicle to draw attention to the artist and praise his craft. Using these three works, one can conclude that a woman, present as the artist, the patron or a decorative faux-subject, was a very powerful tool in Baroque art. Artemesia Genteleschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes shows the Old Testament story of a Jewish widow and her maidservant beheading the Assyrian commander Holofernes to save the city of Bethulia.The history of the artist is a strong influence on this work, as Artemesia was raped at age 17 by an associate of her father. Mary O'Neill points out in her article â€Å"Artemesia's Moment† that rape in the 17th century was a crime against a famil y's honor rather than the victim herself. This surely doesn't mean there is an absence of the psychological harm that accompanies the crime, and this work is seen as a â€Å"revenge painting†, an outlet for the artist to voice her feelings on a personal subject.Maybe one of the first examples of art therapy, a very powerful and deliberate action is taking place empowering women while keeping their femininity in tact, as mentioned in Mieke Bal's article,†Head Hunting: Judith on the Cutting Edge of Knowledge. † Bal says the three major jobs in women's lives are life-giving, in this case, saving the city and its residents; life taking, the killing of Holofernes; and in between, hard work, the two women with their sleeves rolled up, completing a task. The fact that the artist is female plays a large part in the mood and reception of the painting by both men and women.In this case we can compare it to a male-painted version of the same event. Caravaggio's, Judith Behea ding Holofernes (1599) shows the two women as apprehensive toward their charge and unwilling to make a mess, but the most striking visual difference is the red sash present in the background of both paintings, in Caravaggio's, it remains hanging as it should be in the space, in Artemesia's, it has fallen over the victim (victim? ) suggesting a battle has taken place and the women have triumphed.In Rubens' Medici Cycle, Louis VIII had come of age while his mother acting as regent, ruled France, when he grew tired of her policies, Marie de Medici commissioned the artist to make 26 paintings depicting events in her life to be shown to members of the French court and important visitors, with the intent to glorify herself as a legitimate ruler of France, â€Å"Painted Propaganda†, as David Freedberg puts it in his book Peter Paul Rubens: Oil Paintings and Oil Sketches. She was not meant to be shown as a mere member of the royal family, but as the single ruler of the country in whi ch her son was the rightful ruler.The fourth painting in this series, The Presentation of Her Portrait to Henry IV, shows the lady patron as a portrait, an object, being presented to a man, her husband-to-be. Though a woman as an object is generally seen as degrading, the way in which she is presented by deities and allegorical personifications strengthens the perception of the Medici: Hymenaios and Amor escort the portrait to the King while Jupiter and Juno look on in approval and France stands behind Henry in support of the union. She also engages the viewer, staring directly out of both frames, something the Kings isn't able to accomplish.This series wasn't meant to be viewed differently by men and women, only to glorify the â€Å"Queen Mother of France† to all people of France. The painting was produced at a time when Marie de Medici needed the support of her people, and although her attempt to keep the throne was ultimately unsuccessful, this painting among the series is a strong example of what women could accomplish as patrons to artists. Diego Valazquez's Las Meninas shows the more traditional negative way women can be shown as objects. composition dominated by women, the foreground depicts the Daughter of Philip IV and Mariana of Spain, Infanta Margarita surrounded by maids, dwarves, pets, other people important to the royal family as she goes about seemingly unimportant tasks. To her right, stands the artist, aposentador to the King, staring out at the audience as he paints. The king and queen are alluded to in a mirror on the back wall, present in the viewers space, as their physical presence in a portrait with the artist would be disrespectful. The artist takes advantage of this commission to raise his own status as an artist and member of the court.He does this by pretending Margarita is the subject, Magnificently dressed and centered, but bored and uninterested, only there to showcase the artists skill as a painter along with her servants. The Queen is also taken advantage of, present with her King in the background. Michel Foucault points out the objectivity of the King and Queen in his in-depth interpretation of the work in the first chapter of The Order of Things, â€Å"In the midst of all those attentive faces, all those richly dressed bodies, they are the palest, the most unreal, the most compromised of all the paintings images. only present to enhance the idea of the work the raise the artist and the art higher in the community. Men and women would both view this work similarly, showcasing the artists mastery of spacial representation and perspective, with underlying tones of narcissism as they discover the highly decorated and scholarly painter peeking out from behind the canvas. In these three very different views of women in paintings, as artists, as patrons, and as objects, we see how women were depicted, or used, as subjects in seventeenth-century art.It seems views of women have remained the same in the few hundred years since these works were completed, they can be seen as powerful, inspirational and strong, but also passive, boring, or as mere filler. The differences in composition, mood, and ideas were fun to discover as you move from a woman painter depicting a biblical event while drawing from her own experiences to a man attempting to keep a woman in the lifestyle to which she's become accustomed and not be executed himself.

Crucible Essay Example - 888 Words

Justice and The Crucible While justice is meant to be directed with upmost fairness and equality, Arthur Miller’s film The Crucible demonstrates that this does not always succeed, and in many situations the forces of injustices are exposed. From different points of views, justice can be formed or destroyed. In the film The Crucible, Arthur Miller convinces his audience that reason, emotion, and character shows injustice throughout the social hardship in a Puritan community. Justice is one of the main themes that is shown throughout The Crucible. Justice is meant to be administrated with upmost fairness and equality. It is also supposed to be based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity. In The Crucible, it†¦show more content†¦Abigail Williams is one of the characters who uses reasoning to get people put in jail or put to death. The court uses inaccurate reasoning to kill people and to get people sent to jail. The court also wants to see the reactions of the people. They make a big deal of killing witches to make the people of the town feel more safe and to help the people trust the court. In the end, it is just the opposite effect. Emotion is how anyone reacts to a certain event or to what someone has to say. In The Crucible, Miller shows emotion by the way he uses certain characters to over exaggerate things to get the audience’s attention in the court. By using emotion, he shows that through different points of view, justice can be served or destroyed. In the film, Miller uses Abigail Williams to show how using emotion can make someone get what they want. Abigail over exaggerates things to get the audience and the judges to have a larger reaction than normal. In the court, she and her fellow sisters do things to get the audience’s attention. She acts like she sees things and acts like people are torturing her to get them killed or put into jail. To the court, they feel bad for Abigail which makes them believe that justice will be served once they put the convicted â€Å"witches† in jail to be put to death. If you looked from the convicted witches’ point of view, then justice would not have been served. CharacterShow MoreRelatedEssay about Examples of Crucibles in Aurthur Millers The Crucible677 Words   |  3 PagesA Crucible is a container that can withstand great amount of heat, such as one required for refining gold. It can also mean a severe trial. In the play â€Å"The Crucible† by Arthur Miller, severe trails occur throughout the play, not just in the courtroom but also in people’s homes and souls. I believe Arthur Miller named his play â€Å"The Crucible† because it shows the trials and hardships people face within themselves, the courtroom and Puritan society. An example of a Crucible is a trial or battle someoneRead MoreMoral Conflict in the The Crucible Essay examples1500 Words   |  6 PagesMoral Conflict in the The Crucible Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a great portrayal of humans and their struggles. This play takes place in the 1690’s in Salem, a small Puritan community based on a rigid social system, where an outbreak of rumors claiming witchcraft contaminated the small village. The witch hysteria was initiated by a group of young girls (headed by Abigail Williams,) who were afraid of being accused of swaying from the strict regulations. This causedRead More Arthur Millers The Crucible Essay examples681 Words   |  3 PagesArthur Millers The Crucible The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a tragic story of injustice suffered by an innocent community who are subjected to the hypocritical, prideful judges of their trial. These Judges use their power to eliminate evidence of their mistakes and return their community to puritanical ways. The leaders of Salem are not concerned with seeking the truth and justice, but with maintaining their authority and reputations; this objective leads them to consistently rejectingRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter and The Crucible Essay example1847 Words   |  8 PagesHuston  1   Zakary  Huston   Mr.  Montalbano   AP  English  Language  and  Composition   11  August  2014   The  Scarlet  Crucible      Both  Arthur  Miller’s  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ The  Crucible​   and  Nathaniel  Hawthorne’s  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ The  Scarlet  Letter​   include   instance  of  settlers  of  the  New  England  colonies  being  affected  by  Puritan  law.  Their   commentary  on  Puritan  society  is  spread  throughout  their  works.  Their  views  on  the  laws  set   forth  by  Puritanism  are  easily  found  within  their  stories  about  the  various  occurrences  in  a   theocracyRead More Unjustness in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay example1413 Words   |  6 Pages In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, unjustness is displayed constantly throughout the play, when innocent men and women are accused of witchcraft in the town of Salem during the 1690s. Chaos and havoc erupt in this small town during the times of the trials, causing many prominent men and women to be wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. In particular, John Procter, a well respected leader in the town of Salem, soon becomes entangled in the Salem witch trials, when his wife Elizabeth and manyRead More McCarthyism versus The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay example1174 Words   |  5 PagesScare (Brinkley). One writer that used this era as a basis for his play, The Crucible, was Arthur Miller. He was able to capture the panic and mere insanity of many Americans in an allegorical way. The crusade against subversion played a significant role in the following: the actions and tacti cs of McCarthy, the reasons why Miller and other artists were targets of McCarthyism, and the relationship of his play The Crucible to the events of the late 1940s to the early 1950s (Brinkley). SenatorRead More Conflict and Tension Between The Proctors in The Crucible Essay example1418 Words   |  6 Pagesordinary man’s failure was just as moving and terrible. The play ‘The Crucible’ was first produced in 1953 in the middle of the McCarthy political witch hunt in America. Millar decided to write the play as an allegorical text and a parallel between the two events. The activities of the committee began to be linked in Miller’s mind with witchcraft trials which had taken place in the town of Salem 2 centuries before, for example, the committee often had in its possessions lists of people at variousRead MoreGood Versus Evil in The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay examples649 Words   |  3 Pages He states that you coldly prompted your daughter to cry witchery upon George Jacobs that is now in jail (96). In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, people would do anything to get what they want. In the town of Salem good vs. evil plays a big role. The people of Salem are constantly debating about who is telling the truth and who is lying. People are also judged based on their religious views. Even though they had a lack of evidence, the town of Salem mislabeled people as good or evilRead More How Does Miller convey his Message through The Crucible? Essay examples3147 Words   |  13 PagesHow Does Miller convey his Message through The Crucible? In this essay, I will explore the message communicated through The Crucible to its audience, and the way in which its author, Arthur Miller, attempts to convey it, especially through one of the plays main characters, John Proctor. The main issues raised by the play are the role of the individual within society, the value of ones name and perceptions of justice and truth. I shall endeavour to expand on all of these topics and theirRead MoreThe Effects Of Hysteria In The Crucible1489 Words   |  6 Pagesfor. Hysteria is a major leader in past and present day society when it comes to how people act and think in different situations. The Crucible provides great examples with how hysteria can affect a group of people. Back in Salem, Massachusetts 1692, hysterics swept the town, creating storms of emotion. Everyone is wondering, what to do? What to think? In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the effects of mass hysteria to reveal his purpose of using it in his writing, how society at that time reacts to