+ 1-888-787-5890  
   + 1-302-351-4405  
 
 
 
 

Essay/Term paper: Absolute understanding

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Philosophy

Free essays available online are good but they will not follow the guidelines of your particular writing assignment. If you need a custom term paper on Philosophy: Absolute Understanding, you can hire a professional writer here to write you a high quality authentic essay. While free essays can be traced by Turnitin (plagiarism detection program), our custom written essays will pass any plagiarism test. Our writing service will save you time and grade.

An elephant was brought to a group of blind men who had never
encountered such an animal before. One felt a leg and reported that an
elephant is a great living pillar. Another felt the trunk and reported that an
elephant is a great snake. Another felt a tusk and reported that an elephant
is like a sharp ploughshare. And so on. And then they all quarreled
together, each claiming that his own account was the truth and therefore
all the others false (traditional parable).

None of the accounts that the blind men made about the nature of the elephant are
absolute truths, nor are the accounts false. An absolute truth, or one that is true for all,
can not be achieved because of the constant motion of circumstances of who said it, to
whom, when, where, why, and how it was said. Instead of absolute truths, the concepts
or beliefs that the blind men claim are viewpoints that each one clarifies the nature of the
elephant.
Everybody has learned to see things from his or her own sense of reason and logic. The
many things that people experience throughout their lifetimes, help to determine the
judgments toward the different issues and objects that they encounter. Because individuals
has his or her own sense of reason and logic, the perceptions that people encounter are
ultimately true, and not false. Life does not contain one truth for any idea or object, but
truths can be found in one"s perception. It is difficult to determine that anything is the
absolute truth. One should not prove that any object contains a true meaning, but should
develop conceptions surrounding the object.
Attempting to prove anything then would be difficult, if not impossible. Our senses from
smell to values to reality may differ from person to person. What may be true to one person
may be different for another. Because everybody has different perceptions about life, it is
difficult to weigh the content of any concept. Every account, of its own, is formed to be
the truth of the one individual who assumes it. The variety of concepts may have the
virtue of being considered. This is how people develop a deeper sense of understanding for
all objects.
Truth is achieved through the concept and not the object itself. Because many individuals
hold different perceptions, they have many truths to consider, or not to consider. For
example, it would be impossible to determine, whether or not, the cutting of trees is either
"good" or "bad." One might have the conception that cutting trees destroys homes for
birds and other animals. Another person might have the conception that cutting trees is
necessary to satisfy the need to provide homes for humans. Whatever concept is
understood from the object, may be the truth. Just because there may be other viewpoints
to this situation, does not mean that there has to be false statements. The tree can be
used for many uses from medicine to paper to boats and none of these views would be
wrong. The tree remains to be a tree, but the values of the tree can differentiate,
depending on who is using it.
The conception of God, or the non-conception of God, is another issue that many people
make the mistake of trying to prove. A well recognized philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard
states, "For if God does not exist it would of course be impossible to prove it; and if he [or
she] does exist it would be folly to attempt it." Demonstrating the existence or non-
existence of God only produces reasons for belief, not the actual proof that God exists.
Kierkegaard also claims, "...between God and his works there exists an absolute
relationship: God is not a name but a concept"( Kierkegaard 72). The relationship
between man and God is a concept. A person with belief in God, cannot prove its
existence through his or her own relationship with God. Kierkegaard adds again, "The
works of God are such that only God can perform them" We have no basis of proving
God"s works, nor do we know what kind of works God uses on different individuals. Yet,
some religious groups have made the mistake to try to enforce their own religion upon
different individuals. Some religious groups claim that their religion is the only "true"
religion, which is very untrue. This may be a reason why religion has been a major factor
in previous wars and movements. The attempt to follow one truth, instead of freely
allowing individuals and societies to follow their own truth, has led many people into
frustration and hostility.
All concepts are so dynamic that the truth that one believes may appear to be self-ironic.
A person may believe that television promotes violence in kids, exposes the use of
profanity, and stupidity. Another person my believe that television may be educational
because the exposure of all these problems will form into understanding. Although both
may be perfectly true to each other, the two issues are found to be to be contradictory.
The disagreement does not make the other statement false, but establishes another truth.
If each of the blind men spend less time on proving his own account and spend
more time understanding the different truths that exist, they may discover that all
perceptions of the elephant can be taken into consideration. The men may discover that
the elephant is a great living pillar, a great snake, and like a sharp ploughshare at the same
time, or at different times. The blind men may even come to the conclusion that the
elephant may be neither of these. The opinions of the blind men may be constantly in
motion because of the acceptance of the many viewpoints that currently exist and may
exist in the future. Although the elephant may stay the same, opinions about it may
change and adapt.





Works Cited
Bowie, Lee G., Michaels, Meredith W., Solomon, Robert C. Twenty Questions "An
Introduction to Philosophy. Harcourt Brace & Company, 3rd ed. Kierkegaard 72- 75

Handout. Traditional Parable 

Other sample model essays:

Philosophy / Agnostic
I believe that I am agnostic because I don"t know what to think about religion. When it comes to saying whether I believe in God or not, I feel that I have not yet come to a complete understand...
Philosophy / Ancient Philosophy
As Aristotle viewed the world around him, he observed that things are moving and changing in certain ways. Aristotle discovered that certain things cause other things, which in turn cause somethin...
Philosophy / Animal Liberation
Animal Liberation For Steve Kramer By Matt Young Philosophy 200 Why is it that we as a society condemn the actions of a man against a man but very rarely a man against an animal? I think this...
Philosophy / Anselm"s Philosophy
Anselm's definition of a God starts by saying that God is the greatest being we can possibly think of. When Anselm states this, it essentially means that it is not possible to think of a being gr...
Philosophy / Antigone
"Antigone" the play written by Sophocles deals with moral law vs civil law. King Creon has condemned Princess Antgione. Antgione went against the king"s decree and buried her brother Ploynic...
What is a moral? This is a question that has plagued philosophers for many years. Is it possible to have a set of universal morals? There are many questions that surround the mystery of morals. ...
Nikki Tabacco Philosophy 100 048728607 Food For Thought… Do we dwell in a Universe Created by a Designer? The phenomenon of the creation of the universe has baffled many for some time. ...
Philosophy / Balance Of Power
The Balance of Power Throughout the semester, a theme that has guided our thoughts has been the idea that the self is the capacity to have capacities. Through what we have read, written about, a...
Sarfo K. Mensah Jr. Buddhism Paper 3/22/00 Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years of age when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other"s suffering. He st...
Philosophy / Capital Pannishment
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT The Debate over the merits of capital punishment has endured for years, and continues to be an extremely indecisive and complicated issue. Adversaries of capita...
Experience with Dream Essay - Reliable and great customer service. Quality of work - High quality of work.
, ,
Dream Essay - Very reliable and great customer service. Encourage other to try their service. Writer 91463 - Provided a well written Annotated Bibliography with great deal of detail per th
, ,
it is always perfect
, ,
The experience with Dream Essay is stress free. Service is excellent and forms various forms of communication all help with customer service. Dream Essay is customer oriented. Writer 17663
, ,
Only competent & proven writers
Original writing — no plagiarism
Our papers are never resold or reused, period
Satisfaction guarantee — free unlimited revisions
Client-friendly money back guarantee
Total confidentiality & privacy
Guaranteed deadlines
Live Chat & 24/7 customer support
All academic and professional subjects
All difficulty levels
12pt Times New Roman font, double spaced, 1 inch margins
The fastest turnaround in the industry
Fully documented research — free bibliography guaranteed
Fax (additional info): 866-332-0244
Fax (additional info): 866-308-7123
Live Chat Support
Need order related assistance?—Click here to submit a inquiry
© Dreamessays.com. All Rights Reserved.
Dreamessays.com is the property of MEDIATECH LTD