Part One: Exploring the Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Tibetan Buddhist way of Life and Death. The first part of this project will focus mainly on the Buddhist conception of Death, as promulgated in, what is known in the West, as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. For the Tibetans, one must become accustomed to the reality and possible immediacy of death, for this they say, can give greater vitality to life, as well as liberate us from the petty confusion we find ourselves in in our daily lives. What is more, the Tibetans have great sensitivity towards the dying to ensure that they come to terms with death, and are guided through the whole process with as little suffering as possible. The main points I will cover in this first section are:- A summary of the TIbetan Book of the Dead – Rebirth and the stages of death – Illusion of the self – Impermanence – Liberation from suffering – Caring for the dying. Part Two: Exploring Western attitudes towards death: The struggle for self preservation and the denial of death. The second part of this project will address the problem of death, as that is what it is for Westerners. I will look at how our whole culture revolves around avoiding death and decay, and the mechanisms we have in place that give us the illusion that we can escape this natural process. In the west, we find it difficult to come to terms with death, in fact, we do not have to, for there is much to distract our attention. The material world, for instance, creates the illusion that the world is fixed, and many of us identify ourselves with that fixity until the end of our life, when, in fact, the world is in a constant state of flux, death and rebirth. The main points I will cover in this first section are: – Fear of death and what this leads us to do in our lives – Death as an evil, a catastrophe, as morbid, or even unnatural – Can we learn anything about our attitude towards death from Buddhism? – Instinct for self preservation and immortality – Fascination with death: murder in the media – How we care for the dying – Would it be beneficial for us to have a greater awareness of death?
Month: January 2003
Subject: Post-Humanism and Post-Industrial Society in Occidental North East England from the mid twentieth century to the early twenty-first. Source: Part One – The Post-Human Condition by R. Pepperell Part Two – Liberating Technology by J. Graves Secondary support material Out of Control by R. Kelly The Inhuman by J. F. Lyotard Man and technology by B. Adkins Objectives: Part One – To show the theoretical and through example, empirical, paradigm shift from a ‘human-centred’ universe to a ‘Post-Human’ one. Part Two – To show the theoretical and through example, empirical, paradigm shift from an industrial society to a ‘Post-Industrial’ one. Method: Assumptions; 1. The Post-Human condition is the impact of high-technology on art, creativity, philosophy and what it is to be human. The argument is made that the changes going on in science, culture and technology are so profound as to wipe away hundreds of years of beliefs and to show that we are moving away from a ‘human-centred’ universe to a ‘Post-Human’ one, hence the universe’s shifting focus away from man (i.e. the fleeting focus.) 2. The rise of technology indicates the potential to expand and automate production. In a society where work is the central activity it is important to look at the implications of the shifting away from the paradigm that the Industrial Revolution and Age was and is. Our maintenance of power of manufacturing and of even intellectual superiority is becoming increasingly illusionary in our scientific society, as technology is responsible for the ‘inhuman’ wielding and controlling more and more, hence the apparition is that of human dominance (i.e. the phantom of power).
Keywords/ concepts Body image, women, the media, society, reality, sphere of influence, perception, subject object division, networked society Objectives 1. To examine the way women, in particular, can distort the view of their bodies, focusing on the influence the media may have in this. 2. To look into why the media has become an important influence in our lives. 3. To demonstrate how media images can sometimes be distortions and/or distort. 4. To study the way the media can change our notion of reality and to what extent we are networked into the media. Territory I will look into recent studies on body image related disorders and the effect the media may have on the statistics of these disorders. In addition I will study advertisements primarily directed at women and how these can be distorted. I also hope to study writings on networked societies and media deceptions, considering how our sphere of influences has changed. Sources The works of Paul Virilio and Jean Baudrillard, articles from Internet sources, advertisements and articles from popular magazines e.g. Vogue. Change and human aspect I hope to show a change in the levels of body image related disorders as the influence of the media has grown and examine how the media can alter perceptions in society and even deceive it without its knowledge.
1) In the book of change I want to briefly discuss the philosophic possibilities between the concept of a particular place and the ideology or philosophic approach of the people who inhabit that particular space. 2) My approach (and this is the one I intend to follow for the extended essay) is to divide the subject into the following 4 sections: A. A sense of place and the problems associated with this concept. B. The dialectical relationship between the place and the people who live and work there. C. The philosophic or ideological issues, which arise upon the basis of this relationship. D. Some critical reflections. I have considered basing my study on the East End of London. This is a place, which has almost entered popular folklore for a variety of reasons ranging from notorious crime/criminals (Jack the Ripper/The Krays) to its allegedly heroic defiance of Hitler’s bombers during the Second World War. Yet when we use a phrase like the East End precisely what do we mean? In fact even in the most limited sense the area is vast ranging from Spitalfield/Liverpool Street at its far western fringe; to Poplar/Limehouse in the South; to Hackney/Walthamstow in the North; to Stratford/Leytonstone in the East. The area covered is an astonishing 100 square miles and the population is 2 _ million. This is about twenty times greater is size than Newcastle/Sunderland combined with a population 6 times greater. One obvious problem with an approach like mine is: can we state definitively that such an area has common features? Surely there is such diversity within this vast area that there can be no single ideological or philosophic project identifiable in the area. There may be a multiplicity of philosophies possibly competing approaches – but one approach. This is something I intend to explore. It was Marx who once famously remarked that without people there is no history. Certainly as diverse / colourful the East End is, it does not get its character. History / ideology from buildings / the river / parks / streets etc. Its philosophy comes from the people. Again can there be a common approach from 2 _ million people consisting of ordinary working class people / middle class liberal intellectuals / a smaltering of revolutionary socialists / similarly small numbers of Ultra Right activists / small time crooks, gangsters, hard men as well as people from just about every country in the world. Again we shall see. If a common philosophy can arise what exactly can it be? Arguably it takes a myriad of forms but probably includes: A. A sense of difference from the rest of London based not only on geography but factors like working class solidarity / common sacrifice and deprivation etc. B. Thus a kind of ‘them and us’ approach brings out a sense of moral rage against ‘outsiders’. C. Arguably it also takes different forms for example a refusal to accept bourgeois ‘legality’ and a refusal to accept that certain kinds of crime especially property are real crimes. D. This may even inform the radical political tradition in the area. One sees deprivation at first hand and decides only a radical approach can challenge it.
An exploration into the nature of power in Prague in the Baroque and Art Deco Periods using the Symbolic Female to reflect the Paradigm Shift. Emperor Rudolf II made his home in Prague drawing astronomers, artists, astrologers and alchemists to his court. As the map on the left indicates Bohemia was considered to be the heart of Europe during the Baroque era as it flourished culturally and scientifically. The start of my exploration will begin in this period, examining the nature of Rudolf’s power as given by God through the ‘Divine Right of Kings.’ I intend to show how this power was demonstrated through art using the symbol of the female form, particularly looking at the work of the Czech Artist Karel _kreta. The Nature of Power and the Symbolic Female Using the Art of Alphonse Mucha I will examine the state of these early nations, exploring what circumstances led to them. Mucha was born and spent much of his time in Bohemia and the culmination of his work was the Slav Epic in which he wished to give to the Slavic people as sense of their nation’s history. In my examination of the Art Deco period I will also be using the work of Gustav Klimt. Klimt’s work explores the crises of separation, the nihilism that had come about due to the failing truth of the subject-object divide. Klimt’s women no longer look entirely female, people often blend into backgrounds, the perfection of the female of the Baroque period is gone. Perfection is no longer given by God just as power is no longer given by God. The very nature of truth, beauty and power has changed. My project will try to determine why these changes have taken place, what process it was that led to this transformation from Power given by God to the emerging Nations.
The investigation is based on Peter Shaffer’s screenplay Amadeus, an elaborate story of the relationship between the legendary musician Wolfgang Mozart and his contemporary counterpart Antonio Salieri. Critics have interpreted the film in various ways, however its philosophical content had been left untouched. The project’s first concern is the identification of two philosophical trends within the characters of the play – Mozart being aligned to the baroque and Salieri portraying notions of traditional philosophy. The interaction of the characters in the plot in this context raises new philosophical issues such as creativity, genius, autonomy and the concept of God and also displays the philosophical influence over mans interaction with his surroundings. This discussion takes place alongside Walter Benjamin’s similar interpretation of Trauerspiel, The Origin of German Tragic Drama. The project’s second concern lies not in the content of the film but in its creation and subsequent afterlife. Shaffer constructed the play on fragments of truth regarding the real Mozart, which he then exaggerated and developed into a fictional story. This process of destruction and reconstruction is investigated in relation to Walter Benjamin’s theory of the mortification of art in which art is constantly reinterpreted to produce new meaning. Benjamin argues that through the creation of new meaning the original object is redeemed. It is the final concern of the project to investigate this theory and explore to what extent Mozart has been redeemed by Amadeus. The result is a project that not only investigates the baroque concepts of afterlife, mortification and redemption but also illustrates these notions in its method of exploration.
KEY CONCEPTS/ WORDS Enlightenment, Modernity, Rationalizing, Technology, Efficiency, Town Planning, Functionalist. Post modernity, Inspiration, Progression, Shift in systems, Design, Fragmentation, Pastiche, Eclecticism, Existentialism. OBJECTIVES 1. To study the different styles and progressions of architecture in Newcastle. 2. To look at the political and economic forces that have affected the changing of the cities landscape. 3. To analyse social forces that have initiated the architectural changes. 4. To examine prominent architects and philosophers that have altered the direction of modern and postmodern thinking. SOURCES Books borrowed from Newcastle Upon Tyne University Library. Photos taken in the center of Newcastle, visual media gathered from books, internet sites, magazines, leaflets and newspaper articles. FIELD OF EXPLORATION I am going to look at how the fabric of Newcastle’s architecture has evolved over the past one hundred years. By using photographic data gathered in Newcastle I will be able to draw upon examples which can be analyzed with reference to famous architects of the era. The modern and postmodern architecture of Newcastle lends itself to philosophical and sociological interpretation. CHANGE My project will be looking at the progressions that have forced the architectural changes upon Newcastle. I am hoping to illustrate the shift from modern architecture to postmodern architecture and the philosophical themes that have brought them about. THE GAP BETWEEN HUMANS AND THINGS My aim here is to highlight how man has become disenchanted with the Enlightenment project and scientific progress. Disunity of knowledge in the postmodern era has led to a more confusing, pastiche and fragmented way of interpreting society. This incredulity has in some ways widened the gap between humans and things.