How Can The Holocaust Be Explained Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

How Can The Holocaust Be Explained - Essay Example By doing so, endless research into this period in history has resulted in different viewpoints that even share important common ground regarding research into the Holocaust. In order to understand the entirety of historic events such as the Holocaust, it is important to take different intellectual perspectives. This helps one to attain a view that has minimum bias, and thus provides an explanation that may be generally considered. In studying historic events such as the Holocaust that took place during the Second World War, it is important to use different perspectives, as these help one to uncover how the event unfolded. This is of particular importance because the Holocaust is not a historic event that took place overnight; it was one that lasted years, and commenced under the strong hand of a military regime. Two perspectives that help in gaining insight into the Holocaust include the functionalist and intentionalist perspectives. These two perspectives are significant because they both share common ground, but argue their individual viewpoints. The intentionalist perspective holds that Hitler had intentions of annihilating the Jews from Germany much before 1939. The functionalist perspective holds that the cruelties the Jews faced were a result of competing forces in the lower German ranks, many of which were done to please Hitler1. Having said this, both perspectives accept that Hitler despised the Jews. Also, the common ground shared includes both perspectives acknowledging that the Holocaust took place, which is unlike other conflicting viewpoints. The intentionalist perspective and the functionalist perspective have two levels each. In the following part of the paper, both levels of each perspective will be included in the discussion, as they are significant in determining how the Holocaust can be explained. Proponents of the extreme side of the intentionalist perspective hold that Hitler had

Religion and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Religion and Society - Essay Example There are many individuals who feel that in order to embrace the principles of science and its fundamental ability to offer great insights into life one has to abandon faith as well as its implications which come in the form of religious indoctrination. Many individuals such as the author and prominent zoologist, Richard Dawkins, Madalyn Murray O’Hare, a woman who considered her most prominent accomplishment to be the fact that she has become known to many as an atheist, Victor J. Stenger, a particle physicist and Isaac Asimov embody the belief that the only proof of the existence of a phenomena or an entity is that can be ascertained through empirical means. Conversely, there are individual psychologists who view the role of religion as a vital one in the lives of many individuals and explain how religion can be utilized as a guiding force in the decision-making processes. These individuals include William James, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Gordon Allport, Abraham Maslow, Alfre d Adler and Erik Erikson. An investigation of these individuals as well as the self-proclaimed atheists will prove to be quite beneficial in arriving at the underlying determinants of one’s religious beliefs and practices. ... Instrumentation The only instrumentation for this study is an interview protocol which was devised and modeled after the interviews conducted between Richard Dawkins and Sheena McDonald, an interview of Madalyn Murray O'Hair by The Freedom Writer and an interview of Isaac Asimov which discussed the correlation between science and the Bible. These interviews were utilized as a basis for the creation for this instrument. Procedure Through a guided case-study, I will examine my religious beliefs and frame them within a psychological framework. In so doing, the self-created tool will establish an indelible link between my religious beliefs and the pertinent psychological theories/concepts. The primary method of attaining this information will be through the utility of open-ended questions followed by a clarification when needed. Methodological Assumptions The only methodological assumption utilized for this case study was the notion that such a study would yield accurate results with regards to the underlying psychological determinants of religious beliefs and practices. It is felt that much of religion serves as a means of quelling irrational concerns with regards to questions that will remain unanswered as no clear scientific explanations can be offered in support of or in refutation of the origins of man as individuals who are capable of deciding whether we should operate solely based on faith or whether we should always resort to science for our explanation of phenomenon which, on the surface, seem unexplainable. Limitations The limitations of the survey methodology are (1) The study is very subjective as it is a case study based on one's own religious convictions, and (2) The