Preview

Famous Thinkers Essay Dr. King and Bertrand Russell

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1348 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Famous Thinkers Essay Dr. King and Bertrand Russell
Famous Thinkers
PHL/458
March 19, 2012

Creative ideas are the foundation of the creative process (Goodman & Fritchie, 2011). To change the way a person thinks about an issue, or to find a solution to the problem is what many of the ideas revolve around. The level of greatness that each thinker is famous for is acquired throughout their life. There are a few things that all famous thinkers have similarities in that allow them to hold the position a “famous thinker.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 3, 1929) and Bertrand Russell (May 18, 1872-February 2, 1970) are two famous thinkers that are discussed in this paper. Each of these men changed the way people viewed the issues of the day through the creative process. King and Russell made identifiable contributions to society during an era of difficult social times.
The subject matter of this paper will investigate dilemmas or ideas that both of these famous thinkers sought to resolve, and the solutions they came up with for accomplishments. The ideas in conjunction with obstacles from people challenging the change, and a lot of the solutions were in a constant state of improvement. However; each one of their individual solutions all met the test of logic, allowing them to conquer the battles and opposition to resolutions.
The thought process of these two men required a substantial amount of time to change the way people think, and developed an outcome of their individual issues for a better cause. King believed in defending the inequality and unjust segregation of man. Russell beliefs lied in the revolt against idealism and analytical philosophy. The two of these men evaluated a problem in special manner to locate distinctive perspectives that no one else had visited. King and Russell both had patience to visualize their ideas and produce solutions to defeat the opposition.
Changing the outlook that America had about equality and gaining civil rights for African Americans was the



References: Goodman, M. and Fritichie, L.L. (2011). Thinking like a genius. Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved March 17, 2012 from: http://www.studygs.net/genius2.htm Irvine, A.D. (2010). Bertrand Russell. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved March 17, 2012 from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/russell/ The King Center (na) (2012). The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Retrieved March 17, 2012 from: http://www.thekingcenter.org Ware, C. (2009, January 19). Martin Luther King and civil disobedience and nonviolence. Retrieved March 17, 2012 from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1383676/martin_luther_king_and_civil_disobedience.html?cat=37

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In regards to two influential and criticized men, Dr. M. L. King and Edward Said, both wrote two grand literary pieces. To address their audiences, both writers use effective persuasive techniques. Such as King for example, uses analogies, parallelism, and to reiterate. Said on the other hand uses rhetorical questions, cause and effect, and narration. Similarly, both King and Said are addressing two nuance audiences that are in similar cavalier situations.…

    • 71 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    After reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for the first time for this essay, I realized what true civil disobedience was. Rev. King understood that his…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King’s leadership resulted in one of the the greatest non-violent mass protests in the history of the western world. King represented a sense of hope and promise to the followers of the Civil Rights Movement. The most important aspect to understand in this debate is King’s non-violence. With many other African-American leaders, such as Malcolm X, taking a more aggressive, violent approach to change, King saw the potential in Ghandi’s peaceful protests. As Fairclough writes, “Few blacks believed that the city’s businessmen would have accepted desegregation but for the double pressure of the demonstrations and the economic boycott of downtown stores” (209). The only effective events in the Civil Rights movements were those that followed King’s system of non-violence. While Carson argues that rather than King’s presence, “the success of the black movement required the mobilization of black communities…”(219), this assertion is made under the assumption that a non-violent leader would organize the masses. Without King’s leadership, there may have been an violent uprising that only led to more tensions between the…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    37. Principles of Non-Violent Social Change: Nonviolent resistance/civil disobedience—Martin Luther King, Jr. Ida B. Wells and Malcolm X were opponents of this kind of thinking…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thesis: Martin Luther King commitment to economic and social justice went beyond the reflection and dived in the arena of active life. His ethical religious background helped shape his though on civil disobedience for the betterment of minorities. Martins legacy of civil disobedience was rooted in his refusal to separate religious faith and moral considerations from politics, legal matters, and social reform. His actions transcended the boundaries of law, politics, and religion, and composed his academic teachings with those god.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prometheus Anthem Analysis

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It explores the individualistic characteristics in these masterminds by stating, “Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received-hatred.” Equality is a fictional example of the great thinkers in our history who have made revolutionary breakthroughs in spite of the social resistance they faced. Their passions keep them going although the difficulties of making these advances included battling the conservative elements of society that oppose…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of equality could have caused change by making people rethink the laws and rights that were set and given in the beginning of the country's existence an example, from the Bill of Rights, of Anti-segregated America’s beginning laws is, …it should not tell people they can get together to protest peacefully… Another example of Anti-segregation could be It should not tell people they can get together to protest peacefully……

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When I think of famous thinkers a vast number of people come to mind. Two thinkers that genuinely stand out to me are Bill Gates and Martin Luther King Jr. Bill Gates has virtually become a household name because of Microsoft. Martin Luther King Jr. is famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech. Bill Gates and Martin Luther King Jr. had numerous contributions to society and they worked through great lengths to make it happen.…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Descartes took an extreme skeptical position by asking, “What is impossible to doubt, even when trying to believe that everything is false?” His answer was: "I think, therefore I am"; which is Descartes ' most famous one-liner and is the one that explains his understanding of the dualism argument. The term ‘dualism’ has a variety of uses in the history of thought. In general, the idea is that, for some particular domain, there are two fundamental kinds or categories of things or principles. In the philosophy of mind, dualism is the theory that the mental and the physical or mind and body are, in some sense, radically different kinds of thing. The main discussion about dualism tends to start from the assumption of the reality of a physical world, and then ways of considering arguments for why the mind cannot be treated as simply part of that physical world. According to substance dualism, our minds and our bodies are two distinct substances capable of existing apart. Descartes substance dualism was based in the belief that the universe consisted of two different kinds of substances that he called res extensa (physical things) and res cogitans (thinking things). In other words, the essence of mind is thought while the essence of body is extension. This belief also leads to his assumption that Free Will is self-evident. In other words, if one is capable of doubting the existence of things learned through experience even when some of these may be true, then it is obvious that we have the freedom to disbelieve, thus free will.…

    • 1952 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. His entire protest was founded on civil disobedience, and it proved that nonviolent actions have the power to change the course of history. The laws in place during the mid-1900s were severely racist, immoral, and unethical. King and his fellow activists decided enough was enough and peacefully fought against these laws across the south. Many were jailed for their actions, many were beaten, and some lost their lives. What they were doing was against the law, but to abide by laws that are unjust is just as bad as breaking those that are just. As King writes in his letter from the jail in Birmingham, “I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He argues that it is the duty of every citizen to fight against unjust actions whenever they arise, and that those who do nothing are just as bad as those who commit unjust deeds. King also points out that often the institutions set up to deal with injustice are often either too slow to enact reasonable change, or are at the heart of the injustice themselves. Therefore it is the duty of the citizens to take to the streets and demand that the problem be…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1968, close to 50 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by an assassin's bullet. He had given us a decade of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s. While the idea of nonviolent protest was still relatively new, MLK hadn’t invented it; he had been one of a few who pioneered the idea and made it popular. The theory of civil disobedience can be traced back to an essay by Henry David Thoreau by the same name. This theory was adopted and popularized by Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and eventually, Martin Luther King, Jr.. In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau said that if a law “requires you to be the agent of injustice to another,” you should break that law, rather than be unjust to another person.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Famous Thinker

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages

    References: Goodman, M. and Fritichie, L.L. (2011). Thinking like a genius. Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved March 31, 2011 from: http://www.studygs.net/genius2.htm…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as a pivotal leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King was an advocate for civil disobedience and peaceful protest. In 1963, following his arrest during a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” where various sources of oppression were described along with how to combat such oppression. In the letter, Martin Luther King, Jr. explained promises made to the African Community for equality that were never met. As a result of the broken promises, Dr. King called for pressure to be put on the authority figures who instigated such oppression. Dr. King described the pressure as a “direct action” and that the pressure would force negotiation to occur. Negative emotions were in the African American Community. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote that these emotions could manifest themselves a violence, if not expressed. However, Dr. King warned against acts of violence to achieve the desired end of equality. In the letter, Martin Luther King, Jr. revealed to white leaders the racism faced by African Americans and the difficulties faced by the children of this…

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Famous Thinkers

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages

    References: Ruggiero, Vincent R. (2009). The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought (9th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When the Enlightment was happening three great thinkers greatly impacted modern day society. The three greatest thinkers were Beccaria, Locke, and Voltaire. Beccaria came up with the idea of a criminal justice system. Locke believed that all people were born equal and had three natural rights. Voltaire believed in the freedom of speech. All of these thinkers ideas have had a huge impact on society in many different ways.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays