Essay/Term paper: Human life and fire

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Philosophy Essays

Human Life and Fire


The world is full of powerful forces. There are forces that effect the
entire society and there are forces that only effect a select part of it. One
of the most powerful forces of nature is fire. Fire is constantly present in
today's society. Whether it be by staying warm or the destruction of private
memories and property, fire is an ongoing influence in society. Due to this
fact, it is possible to compare fire and life in general.
Fire begins with an idea of a spark. Then the spark is made and with the
help of kindling, the flame begins to grow. Once a flame begins to grow it can
take many paths because of the influences of external forces. If a wind blows,
the flames change their direction and velocity and can engulf many other things.
On the other hand, if there is no wind, the fire may burn itself to the ground
and never reach its full potential. If rain begins, the fire is slowed and may
even be stopped for good. Oxygen is necessary for a fire to flourish; without
it a fire will whittle and die. Some objects allow fire to burn for years while
others burn out very quickly or are not able to be burned at all. No two fires
are alike, in what they do. Some roam free while others are confined to an area.
A fire is beautiful to some, while to others it is dangerous and hellish.
These phrases can be used to illustrate life, as well. Life begins as a
type of spark. Some believe that life begins at conception, thus showing that
life does begin with a very small, yet significant "spark." Others believe that
life begins at birth. This could be related to the beginning "spark" of life
through the way a baby enters the world, in material form. Humans begin to
grow through their experiences and how they are raised. Each person lives their
own life because of the impact these external factors have on them. As times
change, people and attitudes change. This is a fact of life. Due to certain
outside influences, a person may make the best of themselves or just diminish in
the general mass of society. Humans survive and flourish because of their
environment. It is general scientific knowledge that humans survive because of
the oxygen in the air. Without good oxygen content, humankind could not survive.
If a certain part of the country has better air quality, then usually the
general public has less health problems, i.e. asthma. Every human life is
different; some are confined to small places for economic or political reasons.
Others wonder and never stay in the same place for too long a time. As well as
this, some people view life as unfair and hard, while to others it is fair and
easy.
Human life can be compared to a fire in other ways as well. Due to
diseases and other underlying factors in today's society, many humans' lives are
not allowed to are continue on. Examples of these factors are: AIDS, cancer,
mental illness, and murder. Fires usually contained but sometimes rage out of
control. The majority of the time they are unpredictable. Human nature is just
as unpredictable. Throughout history, humankind has been very unpredictable and
out-of-control. This fact can be proved by just scanning through a history book
-- the Holocaust, the fall of Roman Empire and the assassination of the Arch
Duke of Austria, which began World War I.
Human nature is strange and impossible to understand. Fire is close to
the same. Science can try to come up with explanations of them both, yet the
truth is not really known nor understood. They probably never will be. They
will forever be man's greatest mystery.