Philosophy is an experience
The experiences that Marcel faced in life made him to have a perception that philosophy is truly an experience. Marcel lived in a time when the world faced the worst ever experiences; the world wars. With an unfit body to join the military, Marcel was deemed to join the Red Cross. He worked as a Red Cross official for the better part of the WW1. His job was to obtain news from the wounded and the missing soldiers. It is these experiences in life that changed Marcel view on the world and how he viewed philosophy. During the war, Marcel developed empathy. Rather than working for money or any other financial gain, he worked in the service of his nation. He helped the helpless, the wounded and helped in the collection of information on the missing persons. It is during this tenure that Marcel started to develop an interest in telepathy. He realized that the human mind is capable of experience other than the five senses. Marcel was a cautious man though to avoid materializing representation of thoughts. It is during his work at the Red Cross that Marcel realized the challenges that people face in communication. The experience he had with “Clio” the nickname Adolphe gave to his wife, Marcel realized that at times people might feel very uncomfortable with other people around. The presence of a person in one’s life can come with both grace and disgrace. He realized that communication is inexplicable within the bounds of normal experience. Experience from the services made Marcel understand that errors are common, human beings are never perfect.
The death of Marcel’s mother marked the beginning of his memory. Marcel’s mother died while he was still in a very tender age. This made Marcel to face different challenges in life. With the different challenges, Marcel decided to investigate on the challenges that people face in life. The experience left in Marcel after the death was a deep experiential deposit. His early recognition of the spiritual enduring motivated him to investigate on the paranormal experience. These challenges made him know the differences between the paranormal and the hypothetical phenomenon. He knew what the real world mean. He could differentiate facts from fictions. It is for the love of his mother whom he lost very early that motivated Marcel to write the play, le Monde casse. In the play, after Christine learns that Jacques has died, she gets hurt. Jacques was the first love of Lawrence who was at the same time dating Christine. Though, Jacques and Christine were never in good terms, the death of Jacques really hurts her. This in broad terms might mean that the same person whom we can hate while still alive may make us weep when dead. It is this experience that makes Christine to participate in the continuous world. In the play, Marcel used Jacques and Christine to symbolize the love that he had for his mother. How Christine was hurt showed how Marcel was also hurt. The death of the mother, however, gave Marcel a chance in life to interact with different people in life in search for livelihood. During the interactions with different people, he realized that human nature is weak when it comes to offering assistance. The human nature is always willing to receive and not to give away.
Conversion to Catholicism
The religious experience that Marcel felt when he was converted to a Catholic made him come up with a different view towards philosophy. It was though, not from the personal feeling that Marcel felt that he should join Catholicism. Mauriac urged Marcel to join Catholicism. It is through a letter that Marcel was urged to take such a great step in his life. In the long run, Marcel was not convinced by the experience I the church. Marcel expected that the church will play the role of uniting people. To his amusement, the Catholic Church was not providing the unity that Marcel was looking for. The normal routine of the believers bowing down their heads or kneeling before the altar added misery to Marcel’s life as a Christian. He failed to understand why people bowed their heads or knelt down.
The experiences of Marcel are the exert mirror reflection of the Obrien’s treatment on immorality. According to Obrien, homosexuality is not something a person is born with; they are things that we adopt as we grow up. The experience and the challenges that people face in life are what can lead to homosexuality. According to Obrien, the mass media was responsible for the immorality in Vietnam. This means that someone’s perspective to life can be greatly be influenced by the people around them. The way the Marcel’s life was turned around by the events that were around him can confirm Obrien’s theory. The two philosophers agree one thing; a person has no control of his or her own mind. Our minds are dictated by what we see, feel and touch.
William James question of immorality
William views immortality as the one greatest spiritual needs of man. According to him, immorality is a thought of function of the brain. The way one look at immorality will be defined with what such persons think. The productive nature of all living things might make one to be forgiven of immorality. It is not wrong to be immoral; the only mistake that people do is too coercive. The living nature is that which is destined to production then, when there is no production then there will no longer be life. With no life, William says that there will be no soul. The soul is, therefore, a product of life.
In his article and work, William came clear that immorality is a real thing. Unlike the thought of many people that immorality is just a fiction, William says that it is real. It is in fact one of the most important needs man have. He gave an example of men watching nude ladies in bars and inns leaving their wives back at home. According to William, people should not shy away from immorality.
Women according to William have used immorality to be submissive to men. Men will only feel their ego when women become more submissive to them. The research that was done by William showed that most men will only feel that they are superior is when women become immoral in front of them. The fact that women can show off their nudeness in front of men is something that has made most of the men to be proud. It is through this submissive nature that women also feel that they will have the required attention from men. Women being people who always want to be appreciated and recognized in the society they will, therefore, not be reluctant to be immoral. Immorality according to this philosopher plays a great trans-missive function in the society. Immorality is where most of things come from. The good or bad side of a person can be determined by how that person is immoral. The church goers see themselves as less immoral. They, therefore, go to church to get closer to God whom they think is also a moral God. On the other hand, the less moral find them on the receiving end of what the bible preaches. William does not agree with other philosophers since most of them view church goers as those people who have gone to church so as to bring a change in their lives. In that they mean that even the immoral people go to church so as to communicate with God and repent their sins. With this, they see immorality as something that as much as it can have a negative effect on someone’s life, it can also bring a positive impact in the long run.
Each and every person has the right to immorality, this is according to William. As much as immorality is allowed, William says that it is not obligated in that he means that someone should not feel that he or she is oppressed or being denied some freedom without immorality. Provided that one is not infringing another person’s right with the immoral acts, then the act is not bad. In his argument, William says that man has only one life to live and in this he mean that human being should live their lives to the fullest. If one feels that immorality is the only way that makes them happy, then they have no option but make good use of immorality.
The high or the low standard of a person can be determined by immorality. According to William, the rich society has been blamed to be the most immorality. Most people have used immorality to oppress another group in the society. He gives an example of a town girl from a rich family who goes in the village in a short skirt with an intension to show off that she is from the rich family. These arguments are true given the fact that the modern world has been taken hostage by immorality. In the world today, one will only show his or her riches by the kind of discos they attend. Some rich society also feels that their life is incomplete without doing something immoral.
The arguments of William on the human immorality are true considering what have been happening in the world of today. Even though William is a writer who came up with these idea many years ago, whatever he talks about are happening in the real world. In conclusion to William immorality is playing different roles in our lives. Immorality has a profound effect on how people look at production. Unlike what the bible says that, sex should only be for reproduction, man has changed it to become a recreational event. The social outlook of people is also affected by immorality. William says that those who feel rich find themselves on the bad sides of immorality.
