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Manifesto



Stefano Senno

Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito

1-22-2014



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Table of contents:
1. Chapter 13
2. Chapter 2.5
3. References7













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Chapter 1: Research
There is no one philosophical theory that explains everything around us. Each
philosopher has a different point of view when it comes to society, religion, and morality.
While Frederich Nietzche, Emmanuel Kant, Jean Paul Sartre, and Karl Marx all have
different philosophical perspectives, they have one thing in common: the attempt of
explaining our existence.
Frederich Nietzche, one of the most influential philosophers during the existentialism. He
was born in 1844 in Prussia. At first he studied German literature, religious and classical
studies, after that he studied theology at the university. Most influential work The will to
power (European Graduate School). Nihilism is the most influential philosophy that
Nieztche came with. This philosophy is basically to believe in nothing. Nieztche believed
that Nihilism would destroy all morals, metaphysical and religious convictions than an
individual might have. Nihilism is characterized by the rejection of mans spiritual essence
and created a materialistic one where God and religion is viewed as something that limits
freedom. Nihilism is related to skepticism, since skepticism also denies many things that
are considered to be true. There are different types of nihilism that attempt to explain the
world around us: epistemological, political, ethical, and existential. Epistomological
nihilism denies the possibility of all knowledge and truth. Political nihilism explains that all
government and institutuions should be destroyed if we want to advance. Ethical nihilism
says that there is no right and wrong when it comes to ethics and morals. Finally, existential
nihilism conveys that life itself has no real meaning. (Pratt).
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Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher that argued that reason is the foundation of
morality. Kant aimed to explain existence as a combination of experience and reason,
arguing that we must use reason and facts to support our experiences and what we consider
to be true, until then, all of our experiences are subjective. Since Kant believed so firmly in
reason, he would sometimes criticize the church and the state for having foundations that
were not based on facts and/or reason (Rohlf, 2010).
Jean Paul Sartre was French philosopher known for his original form of existentialism.
Sartres philosophy focuses on the concept of freedom; all men are condemned to a
freedom without authority that he must face if he wants to be a moral person. Sartre argues
that the meaning of a mans life is not set before he is born, but during his existence,
therefore, the outcome of a mans life is purely up to him. During existence, a man must
acknowledge his freedom and see it as a sort of project to construct his proper existence.
(Nobel foundation).
Karl Marx was a socialist whose ideas became popular in the 19
th
century. He is greatly
known for one of his works, The communist manifesto which conveys the human history
has been based on class struggle, the communist manifesto became the bible for communist
leaders. Marxs most famous work is Das Kapital which was and still is one of the most
important works of economy. According to Marx capitalism destroys itself and therefore
communism is inevitable. Marx has established different theories including the labor theory
of value decreasing rates of profit and increasing concentration of wealth (Wolff, 2003).


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Chapter 2: Worldview
There are different ways to approach life, and many times our existence is the product of
what we make of it. If I have to identify myself with one philosophical ideology, I would
say I am a moral skepticist. I do not believe that any one theory can possibly explain all the
things I have experienced in my existence, or be the right one. To explain the occurrences
around me, I have to blend the ideas of Nietche, Marx, and Sartre.
The world in my particular experience is a combination of Nietzches, Marx and Sartre
philosophies. I agree with the majority of things Nietzche had to say except for his
explanation on ethics and morality, due to the fact that I am a Christian. While I do believe
there are many different views over what is right and wrong, this idea is important to
understand and handle carefully because if we all did what we considered to be right, the
world would not function. Since I believe in religion, I find it is necessary for a stable state
and to achieve happiness. Nihilism states important arguments that can be useful for our
society, but in conclusion, it is important to have some sort of structure in order to have
control and organization.
Some ideas that Marx had are important to take into account to achieve a balance between
social classes. Since people think that having more power means having more control, there
tends to be a want to control and exploit the working class just to get more power. The rich
will use others for their own benefits, and treat them as if they were not human beings.
According to Marx, the working class must have more rights and a better treatment in order
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to have more justice and a better economy. The socialist ideas of Marx convince me to
want a society where people are treated as what they are and not what they have.
Freedom is necessary to have a society where everyone feels comfortable, but that
freedom must be limited in some ways. If there is no control over that freedom everything
would be chaos and no one will have power over others. It would be a society without any
control where everyone could make their own decisions based on what they think is correct
for them, not taking into account the entire community. There is not a set theory that can
explain all of the ocurrences in the world. Instead, we must strive to understand the ideas of
those before us to adapt their philosophies to our views about the world.



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References:
Pratt, A. (n.d.). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Nihilism. Retrieved January 8, 2014,
from http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/

Rohlf, M. (2010, May 20). Immanuel Kant. Stanford University. Retrieved January 7, 2014,
from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/

European Graduate School. (n.d.). Friedrich Nietzsche - Biography. Friedrich Nietzsche.
Retrieved January 9, 2014, from http://www.egs.edu/library/friedrich-
nietzsche/biography/

Nobel Foundation. (n.d.). Jean-Paul Sartre - Biographical. Jean-Paul Sartre - Biographical.
Retrieved January 8, 2014, from
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1964/sartre-bio.html


Wolff, J. (2003, August 26). Karl Marx. Stanford University. Retrieved January 8, 2014,
from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/