Marx and Durkheim on Happiness

 

Social indicators as well as structural processes are some of the structural indicators that are used for in the process of finding out if individuals are happy. These are used to ensure that there is an understanding of the way that people in society end up attaining happiness. Structural indicators have been considered to be highly subjective and this is in such a way that the theories that have been developed concerning them have sought to prove that the concept of happiness is a human invention than an actual real feeling. In the article, the example of Marx and Durkheim is made use of in such a way that they show the manner through which happiness is used to establish the control of one group over another in society (Cieslik, 2015). In the theories developed by these two scholars, happiness has been developed because of the need to enforce consumerism in society, while at the same time helping in keeping negative social realities at bay. The argument made by Marx concerning the presence of religion is an important indicator of how superficial the concept of happiness really is.

Symbolic interactionism is a perspective that seeks to develop an understanding of the way that the relationships of individuals in society are developed and sustained. This is the case when it comes to the concept of happiness, which if viewed from a symbolic interactionist perspective, involves the enforcement of power relations. A diversity of the definitions of happiness in the contemporary world has come to be associated with a consumerist culture and has come to be accepted as one of the most important social values. Therefore, the goals of a considerable number of members of society are based on the belief that happiness is tied to the attainment of material wellbeing. Happiness is seen as the ultimate goal and individuals pursue it for their entire lives in the hope of finally attaining it. It is also a means through which the relationships between various individuals in society are established and maintained.

A majority of the interviewees cited their parents as being among the most influential individuals when it came to determining their understanding of happiness. This is because parents put a lot of pressure on them to adopt what they believed to be the most ideal form of happiness (Cieslik, 2015). However, the interviewees also stated that a diversity of other factors that informed their beliefs concerning happiness, including their own personal notions concerning what it means and how they can attain it. A consequence is that social factors have an influence on how individuals come to determine what it means to be happy.

One of the arguments made by Cieslik is that happiness is both felt and done. Doing happiness is a process that involves individuals seeking to ensure that they are able to undertake actions that will bring them the most happiness. It is often associated with wellbeing because it involves individuals seeking to ensure that they are able to have friends or employment that gives them the most satisfaction. The result is that the sense of wellbeing has come to be associated with happiness, and this can be considered a motivation behind individuals seeking to ensure that they do actions that will provide them with the greatest pleasure.

The Concept of Happiness

 

There are a number of structural indicators that are used to identify if individuals are happy. These essentially include social indicators and structural processes which are used as a means of understanding the manner through which individuals are able to attain happiness. They are highly subjective to such an extent that they lead to a situation where some theories have developed that promotes the idea that happiness is superficial. Marx and Durkheim, for example, developed theories that suggest that happiness is superficial and that it is based on the consumerist culture that creates a false illusion or the promise of happiness (Cieslik, 2015). A consequence is that happiness is seen as a concept that seeks to hide the reality of the lives of individuals, such as the concept of suffering and how it comes about.

From a symbolic interactionist perspective, happiness is essentially a means through which to ensure that the power relations in society are enforced. This is especially the case considering that a considerable number of definitions of happiness have come to be associated with consumerism, and this has become an essential part of accepted social behavior. The achievement of happiness is one of the biggest goals of members of society because it has come to be associated with wellbeing. From a symbolic interactionist perspective, happiness is closely tied to wellbeing and it is the reason behind the establishment of relations between individuals across society (Cieslik, 2015). The pursuit of happiness is what has essentially become the means through which the current social order has been established.

For a considerable number of interviewees, their ideal form of happiness was one where they were allowed to pursue their own happiness. However, they were more likely than not to encounter pressure from their parents, who often sought to ensure that their children adopted their own notions of the ideal forms of happiness (Cieslik, 2015). A consequence was that the interviewees’ notions of happiness were formed from a diversity of influences, not only from their home environments, but also from other factors that were considered important in their lives. These were especially the case when it came to the way that they identified themselves and their own notions of what happiness actually meant for them.

Cieslik argues that individuals both feel and do happiness, and this is a concept that promotes the idea that human beings aim at attaining happiness. Feeling happiness involves getting pleasure out of an action that an individual has undertaken or has had undertaken for them. Doing happiness, on the other hand, involves actively seeking out activities that are aimed at bringing about the feeling of happiness. Human beings often go about their lives undertaking activities that they believe will bring them the most happiness such as having friends, jobs, and living in environments that will ensure that they are made happy. A consequence of this situation is that individuals form relationships that are narrowly focused on how other people can be able to satisfy the sense of wellbeing that is often associated with happiness.

Emotional Poverty in Outcry by Michelangelo Antonioni

 Emotional poverty is one of the most significant themes in Outcry, by Michelangelo Antonioni. It represents a considerable part of the story because it involves almost all the characters within it as well as the actions of individuals that essentially lead to the dehumanization of others, tapping into the Italian neorealist film tradition (Goldman 9). The emotional poverty in the film is essential in the understanding of the manner through which the changing world has come to affect the lives of all the characters involved, and this is in such a way that it promotes a situation where these individuals can be viewed as losing touch with the emotional connection that they had with one another as human beings. The case of Aldo, the main character, and his relationships with the women in his life, is significant because it is the main focus of the emotional poverty that is prominent throughout the entire plot. In this paper, there will be an analysis of emotional poverty in Outcry, and the manner through which it affects the lives of the various characters within it. The analysis will focus mainly on the effects of emotional poverty, especially on the psychological effects it has on the various characters.

One of the most significant aspects human interactions is that individuals are able to express their feelings towards one another. This is especially the case in situations where individuals are very close to one another to such an extent that they are not only able to interact at a personal level, but are also able to understand the feelings that each one of them has (Steimatsky 193). However, in a situation where there is emotional poverty, it is often difficult for individuals to express themselves effectively because they have not developed to do so. Under such circumstances, they are not only misunderstood, but they also end up driving the people that they love away. The inability to ensure that they achieve a level of emotional connection with those in their lives makes it extremely difficult to ensure that there is the development of stable relationships. Instead, it leads to the bottling up of emotions that essentially end up with disastrous results. In Outcry, the character of Aldo is one that can be viewed as suffering from emotional poverty, which is manifested in his relationship with Irma. He takes their relationship for granted, because Irma has been his mistress for years and they have a daughter. When they find out that Irma’s husband, who had gone to Australia, is dead, he takes it for granted that they will get married and legitimize their daughter. Aldo, because of his emotional poverty, does not consider Irma’s feelings, and the result is that Irma tells him that she loves another (Chatman 42). Aldo’s emotional poverty can be blamed for the manner through which he reacts to the news because there is a failure on his part to consider that their affair was actually more physical than emotional. Moreover, Aldo seems to have fallen in love with Irma, and her revelation makes him have a negative reaction which forces him to move out of their home.

One of the most significant issues concerning emotional poverty is that it leads individuals into situations where they are not able to express themselves to such an extent that they react violently to small incidents. This is because these individuals are not able to ensure that they hold onto their anger and act in a manner that is reasonable. There are two notable instances in Outcry, where Aldo essentially lashes out against those he really cares about either because he feels hurt, or because of worry (Chatman 42). One such incident is where he slaps Irma because he believes that she does not love him as much as he loves her. Another incident occurs where his daughter, Rosina is almost hit by a vehicle, and rather than taking the time to console her following such a near death experience, slaps her. Aldo is depicted as an individual who lacks the emotions necessary to ensure that he promotes the interests of those people in his life through the development of an emotional connection. Instead, he is shown to be one that ends up in situations where rather than showing his emotional side through affection for those he loves, he reacts violently when things do not seem to go his way or to cover up his worry. Aldo’s failure to develop a strong emotional bond with his daughter as well as with Irma and the other women in his life can be considered a consequence of his emotional poverty. His lack of ability to express his emotions effectively essentially leaves him handicapped when it comes to his personal relationships to such an extent that he is unable to cope with the issues that come up in his life.

Incidents of emotional poverty can also be seen in the relationship between Aldo and the prostitute he meets following his relationship with Virginia. The prostitute is an individual who has essentially been dehumanized and made emotionally deficient through her experiences in life. She has come to lose value in her body, and only sees it as a tool to be used to ensure that her needs are satisfied. When she begins her relationship with Aldo, things seem to be going well until such a time as both of them suffer from hunger. She ends up in a situation where she is willing to sell her body to ensure that she gets something to eat. She refuses to listen to the pleas made to her by Aldo; essentially showing him that she does not really care for him and that at the moment, food is what is important to her. This is an incident that essentially depicts two emotionally deficient characters coming together, with the prostitute so far lacking in it because of the dehumanization of her profession that she ends up making decisions out of desperation (Orr 8). Aldo, on the other hand, is an individual that fails to consider that life is harder than it looks. In the case of his comrade, she has no other way to make a living apart from selling her body to make ends meet. Therefore, despite his emotional poverty, Aldo is depicted as an individual who feels deeply and when he attempts to persuade the prostitute not to sell her body, it provides a rare insight into his emotional vulnerability, because it seems that he cannot understand why she would do such a thing as she intends. The dehumanizing nature of emotional poverty is shown firsthand in the relationship between these two individuals.

A significant aspect of the emotional poverty found in this film is that the actions of some characters are dictated by their feelings of desperation and alienation. The example of the way that the prostitute behaves when confronted by hunger can be considered an aspect of desperation that she faces because she seeks to ensure that she gains sustenance through offering her body to one who would provide her with food. The same is the case with Aldo, who because of his feelings of alienation and desperation is incapable of expressing his emotions appropriately (Gallese 202). Instead, despite his initial action of taking his daughter Rosina, from her mother, he ends up sending her back after being convinced to do so by Virginia, his new lover. He fails to offer the paternal love that is essential to encourage a close relationship between a father and child, and is instead made to undertake an action that is essentially alien in a parent-child relationship. Sending Rosina back to her mother is an action which can also be considered to be based on the sense of alienation that Aldo has because he has essentially been rejected by a woman with whom he has a daughter and has had a long-term relationship with.

Aldo’s failure to express his love towards his daughter can be considered a result of his emotional poverty. Rather than appreciating her presence in his life not only as his daughter but also as the fruit of his love with Irma, he treats her as an individual that has no feelings of her own. The result of such incidents is that the film ends up essentially being sad (Jubis 43). The way that he lashes out at her following her near accident is quite brutal because she is not only still a child, but she needs the love of a father to reassure her of her safety. The decision to send her back to her mother is another situation that shows the difficulty that Aldo has in expressing his love for his daughter. This is after she finds him in a compromising position with Virginia, his new lover, and rather than seeking to explain to her about what she saw, Aldo makes the decision to follow Virginia’s advice and sends Rosina away. By doing so, he fails to consider that his daughter needs him in her life and that he has a role in catering for her welfare. The emotional poverty in Aldo makes him fail to recognize his daughter’s importance in his life and his in hers.

Emotional poverty has the potential of making individuals not to recognize the good things that they have in their lives because of being unsatisfied with their status. Such incidents lead to situations where these individuals are not able to make themselves appreciate life and truly become happy. The case of Aldo can be used as an example to illustrate this point because he is an individual who, despite having the love and appreciation that are needed to make him happy, he essentially sabotages everything, leading to a life of misery and despair (Davies et al.). He fails to realize that his daughter, Rosina, is one of the best things to have happened to him and fails to reciprocate the love that she gives him. The same is the case with his relationship with Elvia, his former girlfriend, who is depicted as having a genuine love for him. She essentially offers Aldo an opportunity to attain lasting happiness with her but he instead makes the decision to leave. Aldo does not realize the potential for happiness that he has and instead essentially sabotages everything because of his love for Irma, which cannot be reciprocated because she has moved on.

The rapid urbanization that is depicted in the film is symbolic of the manner through which Aldo is left behind because of his emotional poverty. He is unable to cope with the new situation following his coming back to his hometown and finding considerable changes have taken place, including the planned destruction of his former workplace (Davies et al.). Furthermore, he finds that Irma has moved on with her life and now has a baby; essentially showing that she is happy with her life as it is. This situation can be considered a manifestation of the emotional fulfillment that she has in her life because of her appreciation of what she has. Aldo, on the other hand, has been left out and cannot share in Irma’s new life because he never appreciated her in the first place and took her for granted instead. Aldo’s sense of despair is a manifestation of his coming to terms with his emotional poverty and this is to such an extent that it leads to a situation where he ends up committing suicide (Chatman 42; Baso 58). The suicide is symbolic of his having lost everything because of his emotional poverty, and his failure to appreciate the people in his life.

In conclusion, Outcry is a film that is full of depictions of incidents of emotional poverty among some of the characters, with all of them having a connection with Aldo, the main character. The discussion above has made an analysis of emotional poverty in the film, and the manner through which it affects the lives of the various characters within it. The analysis has focused mainly on the effects of emotional poverty and the way that it has come to bring about the failure of the protagonist, Aldo, to ensure that he has a more fulfilling relationship with the women in his life.

Works Cited

Baso, Giulia. "Practices of Mediation and Phenomena of Contamination in the Films of M. Antonioni and A. Egoyan."  (2014). Print.

Chatman, Seymour Benjamin. Antonioni, or, the Surface of the World. Univ of California Press, 1985. Print.

Davies, Terence, et al. "A Journey through Italian Cinema." Book Reviews  (2015). Print.

Gallese, Vittorio. "Embodying Movies: Embodied Simulation and Film Experience."  (2017). Print.

Goldman, Peter. "Blowup, Film Theory, and the Logic of Realism." Anthropoetics 14.1 (2008). Print.

Jubis, Oscar. "Openness and Closure in Modernist Cinema: Antonioni/Resnais/Haneke/Martel."  (2013). Print.

Orr, Christopher. "Oedipus on the Po: Antonioni's" Il Grido"." Film Criticism 9.1 (1984): 8-16. Print.

Steimatsky, Noa. "Pass/Fail: The Antonioni Screen Test." Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media 55.2 (2014): 191-219. Print.

The Ontological Arguments of Anselm, Descartes, and Kant

There have been numerous ontological arguments concerning the existence of God, both in the Western and Eastern philosophical traditions. There have also been considerable criticisms of the ontological arguments that have been made concerning the same concept. In this essay, there will be an analysis of the arguments made by Anselm and Descartes, and the criticism leveled at them by Kant.

One of the most significant ontological arguments that have been made is Anselm’s argument for the existence of God. Anselm makes several important claims to advance his argument, the most significant of which is that God is a being that one that is greater cannot be imagined (Benzmüller and Paleo Automating Gödel's Ontological Proof of God's Existence with Higher-Order Automated Theorem Provers 93). In addition, Anselm argues that God is a being that exists both in the mind and in reality and this is to such an extent that it creates a situation where he is greater than a being that just exists in the mind alone. Moreover, in a situation where God were to exist only in the mind, it would be possible to imagine a being that is greater than God; a situation that would be inconceivable (Benzmüller and Paleo "The Ontological Modal Collapse as a Collapse of the Square of Opposition" 307). Finally, because it is not possible to imagine a being that is greater than the greatest possible being, that is, God, it means that God exists.

In his attempt to prove God’s existence, Descartes sought to revise the argument made by Anselm. He argued that God’s existence can be found out through his nature, in the same way that ideas in geometry can be deduced from the nature of shapes (Descartes 3). He further argued that God is perceived as being a perfect being, in such a way that all perfections derive from him. A consequence is that it leads to a situation where God can be used as a predicate of perfection, and this in such a way that it includes existence. Therefore, if the concept of God did not include existence, it would mean that God would not be the essence of perfection because he would be lacking in perfection (Descartes 24). The notion that the existence of a perfect God does not exist is unintelligible because it is the notion of perfection that essentially means that God actually exists.

Kant, on the other hand, is extremely critical of the ontological argument, stating that the concept of God is one that is based on pure thought. He bases this argument on the belief that the existence of God is one that is essentially outside of the realms of experience and nature. Kant argues that the existence of God cannot be verified through experience, and this is especially considering that to do so would require individuals to actually have a direct experience of God (Proops 11). It is therefore impossible to recognize how God can be verified because there is a lack of experience concerning him. He contrasts the attempt to verify God with that of material concepts, which can be verified through the senses.

Kant’s critique of the ontological arguments can be used as a means of criticizing Anselm’s and Descartes’ versions of the arguments concerning the existence of God. This is especially the case considering that the arguments made by Anselm and Descartes are based on pure reason to such an extent that they do not seek out any evidence concerning the existence of God. Kant, on the other hand, argues that proof existence can only be achieved through the senses, meaning that it is essential to make sure that a concept is verifiable before proof of existence is given. Kant, therefore, seems to promote the idea that it is essential for sensory proof to be achieved before proof of existence can be verified.

In conclusion, Kant’s critique of the ontological argument concerning the existence of God is incorrect. This is because it fails to consider that there are certain elements that exist without any sensory recognition of their existence. Furthermore, Kant’s argument is one that there are certain concepts that exist both in the mind and reality, as stated by Anselm, that do not rely on the senses in order to be verified. Rather, conclusions concerning the existence of certain beings or entities can be made through the use of common sense, which relies on the observance of the world and the diversity of elements within it. Therefore, while Kant’s argument is essentially based on the premise that something cannot exist without the presence of sensory confirmation, it fails to consider that there are other elements that defy the senses, and that they are based solely on reason.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Automating Gödel's Ontological Proof of God's Existence with Higher-Order Automated Theorem Provers. Proceedings of the Twenty-first European Conference on Artificial Intelligence. 2014. IOS Press. Print.

Benzmüller, Christoph, and Bruno Woltzenlogel Paleo. "The Ontological Modal Collapse as a Collapse of the Square of Opposition." The Square of Opposition: A Cornerstone of Thought. Springer, 2017. 307-13. Print.

Descartes, René. "Meditations on First Philosophy." Central Works of Philosophy  (2015): 1 - 48. Print.

Proops, Ian. "Kant on the Ontological Argument." Noûs 49.1 (2015): 1-27. Print.

Tannen and Baldwin - A comparison

Language is one of the most powerful attributes of a society or culture because it works to ensure that there is a definition of these concepts in such a way that allows individuals to come to terms with them. This is especially the case considering that it is a powerful tool in making sure that there is the establishment of the unique identities of those individuals that make use of it. In the contemporary world, language has come to define the way that individuals perceive themselves within their own societies. This situation is extremely important in the essays “Wears jump suit. Sensible shoes. Uses husband’s last name” and “If Black English isn’t a language, then tell me, what is?” by Deborah Tannen and James Baldwin respectively. In this paper, a comparative analysis of Tannen’s and Baldwin’s essays will be conducted in order to show how language is used to articulate social realities, enforce social dominance, and create the social divide based on gender and class.

One of the most significant aspects of these two essays is that they promote the idea that language is used to give meaning to social realities. This is especially the case considering that language enables individuals to show their preferences as well as their backgrounds. Baldwin gives the example of the manner through which French, despite being considered a unified language, is actually expressed differently in various French speaking regions such as Paris, Marseilles, or Quebec (Baldwin 5). The manner through which individuals speak the language indicates the region from which they hail, and while some of the words that are used may be similar; their meanings in the different regions may be quite different. Tannen furthers this idea through the use of the term “marked”, which she defines as the manner through which language alters the meaning of a word through the addition of a linguistic particle that alone does not have a meaning (Tannen). This is an extremely important aspect of both these essays because they show that language can be manipulated by its users in such a way that it is able to convey meaning only to those who make use of it on a daily basis, within a community or region, rather than for all users of the language. The result is that some users of a language can create entirely new meanings for some of the words within it in order to convey a particular meaning to them but not to other users of the language.

Moreover, language is made use of to enforce the dominance of one part of society over the other. This is especially articulated by Baldwin, who analyses the legitimacy of Black English in the United States. He suggests that Black English has essentially not been given the recognition it deserves because to do so would force the dominant white community to come to terms with its own past. In addition, Baldwin considers Black English to be a language that has developed over time as a reflection of the unique experiences that the black population had to undergo from the period of slavery (Baldwin 6). Tannen also addresses the manner through which language is used to enforce gender and class in the context of male dominance. She provides the example of the manner through which women in social settings are perceived, especially when it comes to the way that they dress and the message that it sends to their male counterparts (Tannen). Tannen considers such situations to enforce male dominance because men are not always required to take the time and effort as women to make themselves presentable. Instead, they can remain unmarked in such a way that there is nothing unique about their appearance. Tannen also suggests that the English language is one that is enforces male dominance, as seen in the way that words are compartmentalized as either male or female, as seen through the endings of words with ess or ette being considered female (Tannen).

In conclusion, Tannen’s and Baldwin’s essays have shown that language can be used in a diversity of contexts to enforce social expectations and express the unique backgrounds of its users. These essays are extremely relevant to the understanding of the various ways through which language can be used in a diversity of contexts to establish meanings for its users. Through the various examples that are provided within them, these essays help their readers come to terms with their social realities, both positive and negative, and opens their eyes to those situations that they would otherwise not have noticed, or have taken for granted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?" The Black Scholar 27.1 (1997): 5-6. Print.

Tannen, Deborah. "Wears Jump Suit. Sensible Shoes. Uses Husband’s Last Name." The New York Times Magazine 20 (1993). Print.