The Past among Us: The Persistent Origin

This piece was written originally in purpose to pass an online course in Coursera: The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 1)

It has always been in the interest of human being to find out the origin of our existence. Although the presence of religion has attempted to provide some consoling answers, but actually the question itself is more than just about belief and search of consolation. People often ask why on earth we have come into the very state of human itself as of today, and yet we consist of different races and cultures despite being told that we came from one single human being. People ask how traditions and societal norms have become the accepted custom and thus practiced widely within society no matter how illogical they are. We ourselves wonder why we establish a certain kind of political system along with the law and moral standard regulated by the authority.

Charles Darwin set himself into a journey in his search for the answer. He observed various species from various areas. He took notes of the similarities and differences among species he found. He studied the behaviors of those species and compared them to each other. Eventually he found the trace of past in his present time, and most of all, he saw how even humans are related to all of those animals and plants out there.

Progress of Civilization in History of Modern Era: The Legacies of Rousseau and Flaubert

This piece was written originally in purpose to pass an online course in Coursera: The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 1)

According to Lange MM (2011), philosophical proponents of progress assert that the human condition has improved over the course of history and will continue to improve in terms of the increasing of human well-being over the long term. The progression itself can be defined widely such as having improvement in science and technology, freedom, good quality of life, education, and economic situation; in short, progression is about achieving equality for life opportunity and prosperity among people.

However, the segregation of social class prior to Enlightenment era made it difficult for equality to be established. The distribution of wealth only went to the aristocrats, and the peasants lived only to serve the rich people. This situation was affirmed by the religious institution that they participated in state affair by supporting the position of the aristocrats instead of standing up for the poor.

Contemplating on situation, Rousseau proposed that there are two kinds of inequality: 1) the natural or physical inequality that is by nature, 2) and the moral or political inequality that is because of the common consent of humankind.

Comparative Analysis between Kant's Enlightenment and Marxism

This piece was written originally in purpose to pass an online course in Coursera: The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 1)

According to Kant, Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity, which he further explained as the inability to use one’s own understanding without guidance from another. Quoting Horace, he believed that people are supposed to “dare to know”, having courage to use our own minds mainly to develop the knowledge of science and arts.

This thinking of his might have stemmed from the situation he faced and had observed in its relation to the so-called Dark Age. Through Enlightenment, people can pursue progress in civilization and responsible liberty, which is in contrast from the Dark Age. Back in the Dark Age, people were dictated by the rigid biblical interpretation and Church authority that hampered them from progressing in science and arts. Moreover, the segregation between the aristocrats and peasants caused big socioeconomic gap that would affect many aspects of daily life including education and health.

The idea of Enlightenment that encourages people to think independently and also to learn about science and arts is the core cause that will in long term liberate peasants from their suffering by striving for prosperity and their rights and thus improve their quality of life.