Atheism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Atheism - Research Paper Example Scant credibility need be attributed to any denial of such interpretation, due to these wishes being chiefly unconscious (Vitz, 1999). However, some scholars had contended that religion must be comprehended on the basis of the conditions responsible for its origin. These were the outcome of economic, political and social forces, as these factors effected human alienation at any specific location and period. Religion had been deeply challenged by Karl Marx. It was his contention that religion was a symptom that became an integral component of the corrupt social and political order, and that it served to preserve the very issue that it attempted to resolve (Wildman, 2010). As such, Feuerbach and Marx would have been in complete agreement with regard to the notion that religious self – alienation entailed a duplication of the world into a transcendental religious world and the reality of this secular world. It could also be presumed that they would have concurred that the humanly projected features of God were correlated to the needs of humans (Brien, 2009, p. 108). According to, Feuerbach and Marx God was created to substantiate the selfish needs of humans. Furthermore, this correlation would have provided counterbalancing completion due to belief in a fictional divine entity. However, with regard to alienation arising from religious self – alienation, Marx and Feuerbach would not have been in agreement. Marx proposed that religious self – alienation was the symptom of tangible and traditionally conditioned situations, wherein humans were embroiled in highly materialistic class conflicts that brought about their estrangement (Brien, 2009, p. 108). According to Marx, religion was the indicator of traditionally conditioned situations. In fact, Feuerbach had contended that God was sanctified human nature that had transcended the restrictions of the individual man, meditated upon and celebrated as a discrete presence. It was his considered opinio n that early humans had been compelled to envisage the terrors of existence. Accordingly these individuals had projected a divine being with boundless reason, will and love. This entity could be relied upon, while encountering or undergoing the difficulties of life (Brien, 2009, p. 109). Moreover, these early humans had resorted to such a higher power, in order to find security and succor. As such, Feuerbach had contended that God was sanctified human nature that was without any restrictions. The moralists contend that the fundamental authority of moral norms; namely that some things are wrong, whilst others are right, requires the presence of God. The source of these moral standards, according to such moral contentions, is God. There have been several proponents of this argument, such as the philosophers like HP Owen. He is credited with having successfully employed this argument to convert CS Lewis, an erstwhile atheist (Ward, 2006, p. 83). According to the contention of moralists , God is the source of morals. On the other hand, Bertrand Russell had proposed a standard refutation to this conjecture. His objection was whether something could be considered to be right, merely because it had been willed so by God. This would render arbitrary, what was to be regarded as good. However, if a thing was to be accepted as right, on account of its intrinsicalness, then God would be subject to a standard of goodness that enjoyed a higher position than Himself (Ward, 2006, p. 8

To what extent did French avant-garde groupings in the 1880s coalesce Essay

To what extent did French avant-garde groupings in the 1880s coalesce around exhibitions - Essay Example The phrase ‘modern art’ first used by Joris-Karl Huysmans in a book title to delineate the subject matter of several paintings represented in the book in1883. The Anglo-Irish novelist, George Moore followed this in this book, ‘Modern Painting’. It was about this time that the critic Theodore Duret, who used it of certain young painters, introduced the term avant-garde (Wood 1999, pp. 7-33). Subsequently, modernity became the focal point for artists and critics, alike. How Impressionism triggered avant-garde groupings The period of 1860-1880 witnessed an undeniable transformation in the aesthetic perspective as the focus of paintings shifted to the depiction of everyday reality and fashions (Wood 1999, p. 113). Determined to present illustrations of contemporary life in both, urban and rural areas, the Impressionists pioneered this change by creating snapshots of everyday life. The war developed new urgency and hope in the progressive artists born in the 1880 s. There was unanimity amongst the generation that Europe had been endowed a second chance; Salinger 1957, 117 Wood 1999, pp. 28 Wood 1999, p. 113 thereby, a new order should be established (Hungerford 1989). Impressionism, a revolutionary movement in painting followed by music, emerged at the end of the nineteenth century in France. Impressionist paintings can be traced back to the period of 1867-1886 to a party of artists with common approaches, philosophies, and methodologies in art (Huyghe 1973, p. 90). They tried to translate their observations into the paintings by attempting to recreate the manifold and animated results of sunlight and shadows from direct and reflected light. One of the most integral development out of this style was the reproduction of objects out of discrete flecks and dabs of matching or contrasting colours to evoke the broken-hued marvels and distinguishing hued created by sunlight and its reflections (Callen 1982, p. 187). Lastly, conventional formal com positions were replaced by more casual and less artificial disposition of depicted objects. The Impressionists in portraying landscapes, houses, trees, and even urban streets employed these novel-painting techniques (Callen 2000, p. 245). As the mid 1880s approached, the Impressionists began to dissolve as every painter craved to pursue his personal aesthetic interests and principles. Nonetheless, in its short-lived existence, it categorically revolutionized art, paving the way for postimpressionist artists like Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat to be free from all traditional western paintings and methodologies and interpretation of subject matter. Aftermath Impressionism was the first avant-garde in art, which paved the way for contemporary or modern art. Undeniably, the impressionists motivated novel Hungerford 1989, 73 Huyghe, 1973, 90 Callen, 1982, 187 Callen, 2000, 245 approaches, perspectives, notions amongst subsequent artists (Ward 1996, p. 168). It was the resu lt of their relentless struggle and perseverance, that the Salon’s official foothold in the world of art was questioned. Undoubtedly, painters such as Monet, Renoir, Pissaro, and Degas encouraged new art movements, for instance, Post-impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism (Rewald 1978, p. 312). In 1886, following the official death of Impressionists, post-impressionism was born. Before these movements, the Impressionis