Would you desire to live in a socialist society? Imagine everything is equal and fair, no one is a winner or loser, and everyone gets the same amount of "stuff". Would life be better? Karl Marx thought so. Although Marx was brought up in a Lutheran home, he was opposed to God and all God represented. He believed man was the center of the universe and created his own power. Many people followed his teachings and agreed with his ideas. There are socialist still active today.
"I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars."-Charles Darwin
Would you agree with Charles Darwin? Does God have nothing to do with the intelligent design of creatures? Is is truly just evolution and the survival of the fittest that explains the living world around us? While Darwin originally attended school to become an Anglican pastor, he was quickly persuaded to entertain other beliefs from fellow classmates at the University. He developed friendships with a budding geologist and botanist who directed his attention away from God and to new emerging theories. While on an expedition to document plants and animals, Darwin discovered what he thought was a brilliant idea about evolution. Perhaps God had not created living creatures after all, and it was merely a matter of the fittest surviving and the weakest dying away. Many people still believe these ideas to be truth.
"Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."-Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud had interesting ideas about human behavior. He insisted that humans were egotistical, self-centered, and after their own self interests. Is that a false description of man? Perhaps not. At our core we are sinful and desire our own way, but is that all we are capable of? Freud spent years analyzing the human mind and psychoanalyzing people. He developed theories that were widely accepted by people and considered genius work. He saw religion as being a crutch people would invent in order to bring hope into their lives. To him this was a weakness and illusion. If only we followed our hearts desires, we would be happy. He once said that our only purpose is to be happy and find pleasure. Although he attempted to live that way, he often fell into depression and cocaine use. Hmm.... maybe just living for pleasure won't bring happiness?
Discussing these interesting men today was fun. They each had unique ideas and opinions that shaped the world and its beliefs. Oh we did learn that a pug's eyeball can just pop right out if you hold it wrong too. Very important discovery!
This week we are reading about World War II. Most of you have studied this before, but it is always good to refresh your memory and discuss the pros and cons of the events. Plus, there is always new things to discover. I challenge you to find out something you did not know before. We will also watch a short video next week about one of the concentration camps.
Homework:
1. Read Unit 24
2. Research the Nazis concentration camps and mark them on a map. You also need to describe the environment of at least 2 camps. Include things like the population of the camp, the living conditions, the location, and interesting facts about it.
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