Phl 458 - Famous Creative Thinkers Presentation

Famous Creative Thinkers Presentation

Jeremy Flyne-Ackah

PHL/458

November 24, 2015

Dr. Paxton Reed

Famous Creative Thinkers Presentation

This paper would select two individuals who were famous for their ideas. The paper would research their biographies and information about how their unique thinking contributed to society. The paper would further determine what kind of issues or problems their ideas sought to resolve. More so, the paper would give a description of solutions and how their ideas were implemented. Again, the paper would analyze how each thinker’s social, personal, and political environment contributed to creativity. Additionally, the paper would reveal each thinker’s creative process, the obstacles encountered, and their comparisons. Finally, the paper would analyze their critique of ideas, and if they could have done things differently, and how it fit in the framework of their fields. The two famous creative thinkers selected are Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. These are two famous creative thinkers who had the need to express the world in different terms and also had a passion to recreate the world order. They also had the inner motivation to create not for the purposes of reward but for its own sake.

Unique Contributions to Society

Nelson Mandela was a former president and political and social activist of South Africa (History, 2015). Nelson Mandela was a champion of freedom. He negotiated the end of apartheid in South Africa with the help of other activists which brought peace to a country which was racially divided. This also led to the struggle for human rights around the world. He also taught the world the real meaning activism. For instance, Mandela stood up to oppressors who sought to oppress the weak and poor in society. With no fear in his heart he was willing to sacrifice his own life for the principles of democracy. These principles and activism took him to prison for 27 years. He became the first democratically elected black first president of South Africa (Savastio, 2013).

Mother Teresa had the responsibility of a follower of humanity. She devoted her life to serve the needy and abandoned people of society (Cultural India, 2015). For instance, she formed the Missions of Charity in 1950 with the objective of providing care and support for the sick, aged, mentally ill, victims of incurable diseases, and children who are abandoned in society. Although her mission began in the country of India, she had the success of reaching people for all other societies under one umbrella. Her contributions earned her the Nobel Peace Prize and many other awards for her social work.

The Problems or Issues

Nelson Mandela was a proponent of social justice and equality; in addition as an icon of perseverance and resistance, he was also a proponent of peace. For instance, under apartheid the population of South Africa was divided into four groups namely; black, colored, whites, and Indians. Economic, strict residency and social segregation was enforced based on racial categories (History, 2015). More so, under apartheid the institution of homeland system within which the government had the authority to create an establishment which sought to separate states for members for those in the country’s black ethnic groups. This usually involved the forced removal of families from their homes to created ethnic states, leaving them with ghettoes with few employment and fewer decent educational opportunities. On the other hand whites were privy to decent basic necessities of life under democracy. Non-whites were also not allowed the rights to vote in national elections. In view of this, Nelson Mandela expressed his opposition the horrors of this system in a speech he gave in his defense case in Pretoria.

Mother Teresa on the other hand sought to solve the problem of the poor in society who had no help from either families or government institutions and society as a whole. She believed she had the religious calling of helping the poor through foreign missions. She was later inspired through the work of Yugoslav Jesuit missionaries which served in Bengal, India (Biography, 2015). Although she was a Catholic nun, she felt she was not limited to the Catholic and Christian missionaries but rather to work directly with the poor. In view of the she was granted permission from the Vatican to leave the Sisters of Loretto to begin a new project under the authority of the Archbishop of Calcutta (Biography, 2015).

Description of Solution and Implementation

The apartheid system gave rise to many resistance movements. The same system led to the formation of the African National Congress (ANC) of which member, and later co-founded the youth division. Leaders of the ANC pushed the organization towards non-violence direction which included strikes, acts of civil disobedience and boycotts. In 1994, Mandela became the first black president in the history of South Africa (History, 2015). His victory was the official end of apartheid in South Africa. The ANC under the leadership of Nelson Mandela led the country towards reconciliation. Instead of revenge for decades of oppression, he and his government pursued a policy that led to the smooth transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy.

Mother Teresa on the other hand, championed her cause through the formation of her Missionaries of Charity in 1950. The organization has so far expanded around the world and consists of about 4,000 nuns (Cultural India, 2015). The organization has its main objective of taking care of the sick and providing for the poor. The organization has opened about 20 homes in Calcutta, which also includes a school for destitute and street children.

Factors which Contributed to Creativity

Mother Teresa was raised in a religious home and she lost her father at an early age a well known politician in Albania. She was also born in Skopje, in the capital of Macedonia. She was raised in a poor home and also a deprived environment. Nelson Mandela was the first to receive a formal education in his family. He studied law in college and became involved in movements against racial discrimination. He also forged alliances with both black and white activists who were proponents of social justice and equal rights. He grew up in a country white saw a white minority rule and black majority and other races segregated.