Free Essays on Historic Roots Of Existentialism

Although the theories in existentialism were present before the 1990’s, existentialism was at its peak during the 20th century. Three major events of the 20th century explain the reason for existentialism’s popularity. Those three events were World War I, World War II and the Cold War. During the first World War, methods of warfare used were more devastating than any other previous war in European history. With the use of mustard gas, trenches, and the invention of the machine gun, more soldiers than ever were wounded and killed. The reason for these new types of warfare lay in technological advances made, through the use of math and science. Although the application of math and science were used in the creation of new weapons, the theory of rationality made it all possible. At the conclusion of the war, people Realized the toll the war took on lives. With that realization came the understanding that it was the largely accepted theory of rational thinking that created the weapons that destroyed many lives, as a result, people/ began to denounce the rational thought process. These people Turned to existentialism, which as one of its main universal themes, diminishes the importance of rationalism. Soren Kirkegaard and Nieztche both claimed that the! most important questions in life couldn’t be answered through science and reason. In addition, both argued that not even science is as rational as one is led to believe. Therefore, because of the violent nature of World War I, existentialism became more popular. World War II also boosted the popularity of existentialism. During the war anti-Semitism was at a high point, and both the Nazi’s and the allies used theories of existentialism to support their side. In addition, Heidegger’s work was also used to protest the Nazi’s persecution of minority groups throughout Europe. Heidegger proclaimed that first a human is born, without any pre-constructed personality or t... Free Essays on Historic Roots Of Existentialism Free Essays on Historic Roots Of Existentialism Although the theories in existentialism were present before the 1990’s, existentialism was at its peak during the 20th century. Three major events of the 20th century explain the reason for existentialism’s popularity. Those three events were World War I, World War II and the Cold War. During the first World War, methods of warfare used were more devastating than any other previous war in European history. With the use of mustard gas, trenches, and the invention of the machine gun, more soldiers than ever were wounded and killed. The reason for these new types of warfare lay in technological advances made, through the use of math and science. Although the application of math and science were used in the creation of new weapons, the theory of rationality made it all possible. At the conclusion of the war, people Realized the toll the war took on lives. With that realization came the understanding that it was the largely accepted theory of rational thinking that created the weapons that destroyed many lives, as a result, people/ began to denounce the rational thought process. These people Turned to existentialism, which as one of its main universal themes, diminishes the importance of rationalism. Soren Kirkegaard and Nieztche both claimed that the! most important questions in life couldn’t be answered through science and reason. In addition, both argued that not even science is as rational as one is led to believe. Therefore, because of the violent nature of World War I, existentialism became more popular. World War II also boosted the popularity of existentialism. During the war anti-Semitism was at a high point, and both the Nazi’s and the allies used theories of existentialism to support their side. In addition, Heidegger’s work was also used to protest the Nazi’s persecution of minority groups throughout Europe. Heidegger proclaimed that first a human is born, without any pre-constructed personality or t...

W00T †Word Of The Year

W00T – Word Of The Year W00T Word Of The Year W00T Word Of The Year By Sharon Merriam Webster has published its 2007 word of the year, and the winner is w00t. Who would have thought that a word with numbers in it would make the cut? According to M-W, the word is an expression of joy (similar to yay). Its also used by gamers to signify: We owned the other team. Words containing numbers are common in the vernacular of computer hackers. Other words in the top ten include: facebook (meaning to post to facebook) conundrum (a riddle or difficult problem) quixotic (foolishly impractical, capricious or unpredictable) blamestorm (discussing in a group who is to blame for missing a deadline) sardoodledom (mechanically contrived plot or structure or unrealistic characterization) apathetic (spiritless or indifferent) Pecksniffian (unctuously hypocritical) hypocrite (someone who puts on a false appearance or acts contrary to his or her beliefs) charlatan (a quack or fraud) The word of the year competition has been running since 2003. Previous word lists can be found here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:English Grammar 101: All You Need to KnowTelling a Good Poem from a Bad One40 Idioms with First