What man has made | Teen Ink

What man has made

November 27, 2010
By theskeptist BRONZE, Colleyville, Texas
theskeptist BRONZE, Colleyville, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The reason why I refuse to take existentialism as just another French fashion or historical curiosity is that I think it has something very important to offer us... I'm afraid were losing the real virtues of living life passionately in the sense of taking responsibility for who you are the ability to make something of yourself and feel good about life. Existentialism is often discussed as if it were a philosophy of despair, but I think the truth is just the opposite. Sartre, once interviewed, said he never felt once minute of despair in his life. One thing that comes out from reading these guys is not a sense of anguish about life so much as a real kind of exuberance, of feeling on top of it, its like your life is yours to create. Ive read the post modernists with some interest, even admiration, but when I read them I always have this awful nagging feeling that something absolutely essential is getting left out. The more you talk about a person as a social construction or as a confluence of forces or as being fragmented of marginalised, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when sartre talks about responsibilty, he's not talking about something abstract. He's not taling about the kind of self or souls that theologians would talk about. Hes talking about you and me talking, making descisions, doing things, and taking the consequences. It might be true that there are six billion people in this world, and counting, but nevertheless -what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference, first of all, in material terms, to other people, and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we shouuld never write ourselves off or see eachother as a victim of various forces. It's always our descision who we are."


Money. Pieces of paper, that man has made, controls whether someone gets a meal for the day, a home for the night, or even a family for life.
Money. Pieces of paper, that man has made, are driving the very meaning of existentialism out of our lives, dreams, and hopes and into the non-existent abyss.
Money. Pieces of paper, that man has made, are setting up the building blocks for an indentation on the path to world peace.
Money. Pieces of paper, that man has made, controls a human being physically, mentally, emotionally, and drastically.
Man itself shall learn when there is nothing left, but money; pieces of paper that man has made.


The author's comments:
What are YOU letting control your life?

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This article has 2 comments.


on Dec. 25 2010 at 6:31 pm
theskeptist BRONZE, Colleyville, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The reason why I refuse to take existentialism as just another French fashion or historical curiosity is that I think it has something very important to offer us... I'm afraid were losing the real virtues of living life passionately in the sense of taking responsibility for who you are the ability to make something of yourself and feel good about life. Existentialism is often discussed as if it were a philosophy of despair, but I think the truth is just the opposite. Sartre, once interviewed, said he never felt once minute of despair in his life. One thing that comes out from reading these guys is not a sense of anguish about life so much as a real kind of exuberance, of feeling on top of it, its like your life is yours to create. Ive read the post modernists with some interest, even admiration, but when I read them I always have this awful nagging feeling that something absolutely essential is getting left out. The more you talk about a person as a social construction or as a confluence of forces or as being fragmented of marginalised, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when sartre talks about responsibilty, he's not talking about something abstract. He's not taling about the kind of self or souls that theologians would talk about. Hes talking about you and me talking, making descisions, doing things, and taking the consequences. It might be true that there are six billion people in this world, and counting, but nevertheless -what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference, first of all, in material terms, to other people, and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we shouuld never write ourselves off or see eachother as a victim of various forces. It's always our descision who we are."

Thank you! It's nice to know someone else has this perspective as well. 

anonymous said...
on Dec. 24 2010 at 5:10 pm
Sorry about the rating- I was attempting to give 5 stars when my computer froze and I'm not sure what happened. Deserves more than 5 stars though- beautiful! Truly, this kind of thinking is what gives me hope for the future- shows that there is something unique & salvageable amongst the typical 'herd mentality' of the human race.