Famous Creative Thinkers - Essay Example

FAMOUS CREATIVE THINKERS PRESENTATION An American mythologist, anthropologist and a Joseph Campbell was born in 1904 in New York City and raised in White Plains. Around 1921, the young man graduated from the Canterbury school in New Milford. While in college, he studied biology and mathematics but later on preferred humanities. In 1925 and 1927, he received a BA in English literature and an MA in medieval literature respectively. Campbell also engaged in co-curricular activities as well, he was an athlete, he was able to receive awards in truck and field events, and for a short period of time, he was among the best half-mile runners in the world. He is considered to be the most famous for his diligent work in the fields of both comparative mythology and comparative religion. He grew up in a catholic family of an upper middle class. Campbell becomes passionate for the Native American culture due to the fact that his father used to take him to visit American Museum of Natural History in New York City. This made him to quickly become an expert in many aspects of American Indian culture and specifically its mythology (Campbell, 2009).). In addition, this helped improve his passion in legends, related tales, folk stories, and fables among others. In his work of related disciplines, Campbell began to how all apparently have some common characteristics regardless of the background and cultures of which they belong. Joseph Campbell did a number of publications in his time, a very remarkable example was book titled “The Power of Myth” that was based on the interviews between him and Bill Moyers that were the origin for the highly praised television series. This book outlined the evolution of mythology in the history of the human race and their place in the modern society. Campbell used his personal accounts and experience in life during his own upbringing and with stories from many cultures and civilizations to present to his audience the most convincing opinion that modern society is going through an evolution from the old mythologies and civilization to a new way of judgment where a global mythology will emerge. In another book titled “Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Masks of God”. He based his narration on the theme of universality of myths, legends, and all other related stories that have been there throughout the history of mankind, no matter which period, culture or even the society. He concluded that mythology is the body of stories and legends that people recognize as being an essential part of their civilization (Campbell & Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2008). That a period before writing was invented, it is through these legends and stories, vital information of a given society were passed on to the younger generation in the form of rituals and oral traditions. Since these stories and legends could contain the same themes each time they were told in different societies, culture or race; then it come to be found out that they had universality and eternal truth about mankind. In his opinion mythology as the stipulation of a cultural framework for a society that is used to educate their young, and to provide them with a means of coping with their passage through the different stages of life from birth to death. In a general, myths include religion as well and the development of religion is built-in part of a societys culture. A mythology is certainly bound to the society and time in which it occurs and cannot be divorced from this culture and environment. The discussion considers the role of myth and ritual in contemporary society. Modern rituals are carried out to mark special events in private lives, such as an individuals marriage or recruitment in a branch of the armed forces and, on public occasions such as the induction of civil and national leaders. He concludes that there is a lack of effective mythology and ritual in modern society. They claim that the exclusion of classical studies from the modern educational syllabus has led to a lack of awareness of the mythological foundations of western societys heritage. He agrees that there is no effective mythology in modern society by which individuals can relate to their role in the world. Another great American philosopher, academician, an activist, public intellectual and a prominent member of the Democratic Socialist of America, was Cornel Ronald West born in 1953. He grew up in California, as a son to a teacher and prominent general contractor. With this able background he was able to graduate from John F. Kennedy High school then proceeded to the Harvard University. As a young man, he was more influential at high school level that led to his election as the class president. Cornel mobilized and marched in civil rights demonstration that was organized to protest against the racial segregation that was practiced in most high schools (Westbrook, 2005). At the age of 25 he would return to Harvard University as a lecturer before becoming an assistant professor at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. While teaching there he would participate in protests on campus against apartheid South Africa. In retaliation, the University administration turned down his spring semester leave at the last minute, which would necessitate him to commute from Paris where he had planned to teach in order to teach two classes at Yale but this could not block his ambitions. This is the time when he managed to travel to many countries where he involved himself with intellectual and political progressive movements. His exploration, has continued to establish the relations between race and cultural diversity, he published a book “Race Matters” the eventually promoted a healing vision for the crisis of racial politics today. The communication in his work has ever remained categorical and unusual; he is able to see salvation and the rejuvenation of love, empathy and compassion, in a drastic relocation of power and wealth – and facing difficult truth. In his philosophical works, prophetic pragmatism was coined in the ethical basis of humanism (Wood, 2000). He viewed truth as constructed propositions and influential approaches to problem-solving; he further said that the state of truth is to allow suffering to speak- this remark gives it an existential importance that makes the truth to be seen as a way of life, as opposed to a set of propositions that match to a set of things in the world. It is very clear that Ronald West is a humanist. His views are anti-establishment in the sense that he warns us against the loss of individual freedom in the face of corporate greed. In West’s “Prophet Theology” he explored and concluded that Christians should hold that God identifies with all humans and, further, that there is a Christian permission to identify with the oppressed. A positive outlook, namely, that there is hope human life will improve, is feature of both traditional humanists and West. He was a strong supporter for depiction of our moral judgments to normal debate. His humanism inherits classical philosophical tribulations with humanism, and I contend, contrary to Johnson’s interpretation of West, that West’s humanism is not secular. Cornel has provided an expensive contribution to philosophy because he substantively explores the philosophy of arguably the most important American thinker of the modern era, an untiring advocate for the uplift of the demoralized, and a philosopher that has influenced academic and public life not just in North America and Europe, other than in a world rarely explored by Anglo-American philosophers - the world of race - a world explored by no other modern pragmatist in such depth as Alain Locke - West’s unmentioned shadow unreservedly challenging West’s approach and, along with Johnson and West, providing extremely important ways of thinking about the intersection of philosophy and life. References Campbell, J. (2009). Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation (Easyread Lar. ReadHowYouWant. Campbell, J., & Joseph Campbell Foundation,. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces. Westbrook, R. B. (2005). Democratic hope: Pragmatism and the politics of truth. Ithaca (N.Y.: Cornell University Press. Wood, M. D. (2000). Cornel West and the politics of prophetic pragmatism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Read More