Author: Glen

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

To establish whether or not news companies have a responsibility to adhere to impartiality when reporting on political issues?

In my project I will be exploring and researching the concept of media impartiality, specifically in regard to political news stories, and whether news companies have a responsibility to produce impartial reports, or whether they have a right to express their opinion on their platform.

I analyse data and surveys conducted around the world in order to emphasise how present news media impartiality is in this day and age, and how detectable it is by the readers of the newspapers. This is an incredibly important subject as the news is more accessible now more than ever hence, it is more influential.

It will then be brought to light now influential the news is in the political world, seen in the images above, the Sun and Fox News, both owned by Rupert Murdoch. The Sun’s article claims responsibility for the 1997 United Kingdom election results, Fox news’ article states that the Unites States election of 2020 was rigged for Democrat Joe Biden. Both of these claims, made by the top newspapers in the country, sent tremors around the country causing backlash and violence, and ultimately mistrust in the media.

My approach in my essay is to cover the topic of media impartiality with reference to both 21st century philosophers and 17th/18th century philosophers.

I have chosen to do this, so the subject is widely covered by philosophers who address media impartiality directly; Diana Mutz and Joseph Mazor, and those who I apply their philosophical theorems to media impartiality; Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

‘Journalism is the first draft of History’

I will conclude that partisan news companies do not need to adhere to as strict impartiality as non-partisan news companies as their reputation should reflect the view point the journalists will be taking when reporting on political issues. Whereas news companies who claim to be impartial must strictly follow this claim as people will rely on them for an even-handed report on political issues.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Girls and Social Media

Girls and Social Media

The Object of my project is how social media contributes towards and perpetuates the damaging social construct of femininity.

Control.

Control is the overarching force at play in this project. It refers both to capitalist and patriarchal control. Foucault explains how social media acts as a form of surveillance, policing and governing girls’ behaviour online and prohibiting their freedom.

Identity.

Identity is relevant to this project because of the identities girls form on social media. Girls internalise the sexually objectifying media content they consume on social media, which causes the development of a patriarchal construction of identity. Tiqqun is used to demonstrate how this prohibits girls from experiencing true value in a number of ways, such as the values of liberation, introspective intimacy and identity.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Why the vast majority of schools today are outdated and ineffective

Social and emotional skills are situated at the heart of human lives. We are social beings that depend on collaborative behaviour to thrive in any given society, yet historically and traditionally speaking our society promotes competitive behaviours that have damaging effects on our emotional and social well-being. Over the recent years mental health awareness has been growing rapidly and more people are waking up to the fact that our emotional intelligence is just as important, if not more, than our intelligence quotient. This notion has stimulated an explosion of exploration into the educational process and this essay will explore why the vast majority of schools today still possess the old factory based model for education.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Pseudo-Intellectualism: A Deep Dive Into A Cultural Phenomena

Through my research into pseudo-intellectualism as it is conceptualized by today’s society, I have identified two many features that make an argument pseudo-intellectual. The first being; a foundation in some sort of reasoning or logic, and the second being the use of faulty rhetorical appeals in order to make a claim. These arguments are usually made to provide the consumers of these philosophies with a sense of both meaning and purpose; this is done in order to combat a sense of meaningless and unfulfillment in today’s modern world.
What separates an intellectual from that of a pseudo-intellectuals, is how the latter will base their argument on facts and reasoning, but will then use faulty rhetoric in the formation of their arguments. Aristotle conceptualizes rhetoric as; ethos, pathos, and logos. These three forms of rhetoric are understood as; an appeal to credibility, emotion, and logic. All forms of arguing rely on a least one of these forms, and sound arguments can be built using these three rhetorical forms. Pseudo-intellectuals, on the other hand, attempt to use these rhetorical forms, in an unjust manner in order to fully persuade the listener of their point.
In today’s pop-culture the pseudo-intellectuals that often get the most attention are the ones that use these faulty methods of reasoning to evoke a sense of meaning and purpose in the audiences that listen to them. It may seem harmless, but because they do this, they are given a lot of unwarranted attention and authority when it comes to social and academic topics. This allows them to speak on things they aren’t fully qualified on, which can divert social discussion to that of semantics, which then dissolves social discussions to that of arguing for the sake of proving a point. This in turn, creates a divide in society.
It is important to be able to identify pseudo-intellectual arguments because they can be very enticing, due to the fact that they are based on reason, and promise the listener with a sense of meaning. But because they aren’t sound conclusive arguments, if ever placed under scrutiny by anyone knowledgeable, they will crumble along with what meaning they provided.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

How does death in philosophy impact human significance?

The study of death has been looked into in both scientific and theological terms. Something I wish to delve into is the philosophical discussion regarding death as the reason for human significance.
By using the works of thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Karl Löwith, and Karl Marx, I aim to discuss and compare the variety of ways in which death derives or disproves humanity’s ’innate’ purpose.
Death is presented to do this in Heidegger’s ahistorical argument through the death of nature– i.e. the death of our external world and the individual– in comparison to Löwith’s historical argument regarding secularised eschatology.
Marxist ideology and literature is considered throughout as this best relates to modernity.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Miscarriages of Justice: A Philosophical Investigation into the Media, and their effect upon the Judiciary System in accordance with specific cases of Violence

Contemporary treatment of specific crimes (miscarriages of justice) reveals that early forms of vendetta are still present in our supposedly rational society, which may therefore result in the destabilisation of hierarchical power relations. The project uses the subsequent cases; the Birmingham Six (1974-75), the Guildford Four (1975), and the Maguire Seven (1976), to highlight how such a system of our judiciary systems’ necessity to our society can fail. The project uses MacIntyre’s philosophy, regarding narrative alongside Poyser’s academics, to suggest that through improved case narratives due to media involvement, the judiciary system is provided with the opportunity to resurrect their mistakes and in doing so improve the structural innerworkings of society. Further philosophical analysis of the media’s narrative regarding MacIntyre perhaps reveals how the victims are condemned due to how they have been treated by the judiciary system and the miscarriage of justice that they been involved. In thinking about one’s selfhood in terms of narrative, it is possible to review how the victim’s lives are changed for the worse due to their mistreatment. Moreover, use of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right feasibly aids the removal of historical discordancy around the concept of justice, which in doing so provides a clearer understanding of how violence in the form of terror and vendetta still become pertinent issues for our society. Hence, the project sets itself to reviewing the claim that contemporary treatment of specific crimes in the form of miscarriages of justice may in fact provoke the destabilisation of hierarchical powers such as our judiciary system due to the presence of repeated acts of violence in the form of terror and vendetta.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

How can we reverse the effects of climate change? A revised global philosophy or self-preservation? A philosophical investigation into the role plant-based lifestyles can play in altering the climate crisis.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the extent of which our climate crisis can be aided by plant-based diets. I will assess different opinions on animal sentience and moral philosophy in order to determine how and why a plant-based diet could play a part in combatting the crisis. By Harry Feachen

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

The Art of MMA

The object of this project is the sport of MMA itself, and the project will emphasise and refer to the philosophical concepts of Sun Tzu, with a concise focus on his philosophy of war within The Art of War. With regards to context, this project will emphasise how a mixed martial artist’s adherence of Sun Tzu’s war philosophy can contribute to the elevation of their performance. This essay will firstly address Sun Tzu’s Five Indispensable Matters of the leader and demonstrate how an MMA head coach’s adherence of these concepts can build the foundations of a successful team. This will be executed by outlining a specific MMA Gym that subconsciously adheres to the five matters and will meanwhile demonstrate the type of leader that aspiring mixed martial artists should aim to fight under in accordance with Sun Tzu’s philosophy. After evaluating the five matters, I will then focus upon Sun Tzu’s concepts of The Spirit of the Troops and Emptiness and Strength as here the emphasis will shift from leader to soldier, and therefore I will apply his philosophy directly to the fighter’s rather than their head coaches. Here I will apply his concepts to contemporary mixed martial arts examples and demonstrate circumstances where they are subconsciously applied by successful MMA practitioners. The purpose of this will be to demonstrate how a mixed martial artists adherence of the Sun Tzu’s philosophy can prove to be prudent in one’s pursuit of a world title. With regards to secondary literature, I will utilise Michaelson’s Sun Tzu for Execution, which is his interpretation of how to utilise Sun Tzu’s war philosophy to get results in the modern day. In order to improve the validity of this project I have also conducted two online interviews via direct message with professional mixed martial artists Nathan Fletcher (6-1) and Luke Riley (3-0), with the two athlete’s responses showing contrasting perspectives.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

The Dangers Posed By Social Media, and What They Mean for the Smartphone Generation

Project aims:

• To raise awareness of the dangers facing this and future generations, such as the mental health crisis and the existential threat to society.
• To offer real world practical solutions, such as legal/governmental legislation to moderate social media and by limiting our own social media use today.
• To create a challenge for myself, by applying 20th century philosophy to a modern-day concept.

Object/territory:

• Social media: The big six include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.
• Smartphone generation or Generation Z is anyone born between 1995-2012, this is the first generation to grow up with social media.

Sources used:

• Consciousness, Art and Technology: Karl Barthes, ‘The Death of the Author’ and Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. The social media author is dead, and the cause is suicide.
• Kantian and Post-Kantian Philosophy: Sigmund Freud, ‘Instincts and their Vicissitudes’. There is a drive attached to social media.
• ‘iGen’ book by Jean Twenge notices children are growing up slower and are facing a mental health crisis.
• ‘The Social Dilemma’ documents how social media is deigned to addict the user and then sell their data on. This can then end up in the wrong hands.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

There must be limits to tolerance to avoid the subjectivism and ‘anything goes’ nature of postmodernism. Discuss

Territory: Society
Object: Religious commitment/belief
Concepts: Liberalism, Pluralism, Tolerance

Today, society is more liberal than ever; everyone has an entitled opinion. Is subjectivity the inevitable result of the postmodern? This question will be answered with a focus on religious commitment, as we know it can lead to conflict. Religion has a different order of commitment than other statements; it is part of your identity. This work considers where the line should be drawn when it comes to clashing views, as we have to find ways to live harmoniously.

I consider the Charlie Hebdo shooting, what went wrong and how people reacted. John Rawls’ ‘Political Liberalism’ will follow, explaining that toleration is necessary for a stable society. Focussing on his overlapping consensus between reasonable individuals. However, it is not universal as not everyone will except putting liberalism at the centre. Gianni Vattimo’s ‘weak thought’ (il pensiero debole) wants a weaker metaphysical understanding. For him, to think correctly is to be tolerant from the beginning.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to know where the boundaries lie. Relativism still proves to be a problem with Vattimo’s argument. Both philosophers have strong ideas, yet neither approach provides a fault-proof solution to the issues that arise in this current pluralistic era.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Mitigating the Effects of Covid-19

My Object is Covid-19 mental health, as I believe that mental health has not had enough importance throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. I highlight this pressing issue using psychological studies that show the link between Lockdown and mental health.
Project Aim:
To use my philosophical concepts to offer solutions at mitigating the effects of Covid-19 mental health, I shall not be suggesting that the physical effects of the virus should be disregarded.

Within my project, I use two philosophical concepts – Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism and Ayn Rand’s rational egoism.
Sartre’s existentialism focuses on our own individual freedom as he claims that we do not have a general human essence to conform to. Sartre also has insights into why we experience anxiety which include factors such as abandonment and responsibility, all feelings exaggerated within a lockdown.
Ayn Rand’s rational egoism denies selfishness as an evil motive, and instead, Rand promotes placing oneself first in order to gain a clear conscience to make rationally informed decisions. Our integrity and values will ensure that making selfish decisions will not lead to immoral acts, and therefore we should be making more selfish decisions.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

“I said it with my chest and I don’t care who I offend” Thinking of offence as a progressive voice.

This project explores the role offence plays in the creation of authentic and progressive discourses. It will be exploring this by looking at misogynistic rap lyrics, investigating the offence these lyrics cause. It will begin by discussing John Stuart Mill and Joel Feinberg in order to demonstrate how offensive rap lyrics offend rather than harm. Then it will discuss the work of Catherine Mackinnon, looking at how a minority of rap lyrics could be defined as pornography and therefore harmful. However, it will then demonstrate how misogynistic rap lyrics should be understood as responding to the world building of pornography. This project will then discuss how rap music also has the potential to challenge the belief system created by pornography. Through discussing Martin Heidegger, we see how misogynistic rap lyrics defy our everyday idle talk, creating a new authentic discourse. This discourse is created through the shock caused by offensive lyrics. We will see how shock has a liberating potential, as demonstrated by Walter Benjamin. Ultimately this project will investigate how rap’s offensive misogynistic lyrics shock us, forcing us to engage with them. This creates a new authentic discourse that allows the rise of progressive voices.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Why Did The Duck Cross The Line? An Exploration of Offensive Humour, Laughter as a Response, and DuBoisian ‘Double Consciousness’

This project aims to explore the nature of offensive humour, using readings of W.E.B Du Bois’ theory of ‘double consciousness’ (a duel perspective originally felt by black Americans) as well as the three laughter theories (as told by Hobbes, Kant and Freud) as a framework for presenting the main arguments regarding taboo topics within the comedic realm, these being 1.) in support of censorship within humour, with the exception of oppositional satire from the oppressed, and 2.) in support of a freedom within laughter and comedy, as per their supposed nature. I aim to ultimately offer a new perspective regarding this argument, expanding on ideas seen within my chosen concepts.

OBJECT: Offensive Humour and laughter as a response, and how this may link to censorship/freedom of speech

TERRITORY: Ethics. (Analysing whether offensive humour is ‘right’ to use)

CONCEPTS: Interpretations of DuBoisian ‘Double Consciousness’, laughter theories (as stated by Hobbes, Kant, Freud)

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

I Will to Survive: Self-preservation and its practical application

I Will Survive: Self-preservation and its practical application

Self-Preservation is a force endowed to all organic beings. Its innate nature means it is inescapable, leading to it being a definite presence among action in the world. As a concept it has been subject to interpretations, and my own will supplemented by Schopenhauer, Nietzche and Darwinism. Within the project I will attempt to offer a comprehensive story of the practical application, to understand how the will developed and changed in its environment. Within the project I wrestled with questions such as:

“Who runs the world?”

“Why did modern countries develop the way they did?”

“How do we fix societies for the better”?

My analysis began with ancient history, where self-preservation showcased itself in establishing systems of hierarchy as extension of the will’s desire to dominate. Following on from this I focused on Western society and how self-preservation inspired the actions of imperialism. Next, I explained how self-preservation transitioned into neo-liberalism as well as the resulting disguise from the new environment. Finally, I presented potential solutions to the harmful effects of self-perseveration that I encountered within the project.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

An investigation into track and trace during the COVID-19 pandemic from a Deleuzian and Guattarian Perspective

The object of study for my stage three project is track and trace. In late 2019 the COVID-19 pandemic was reported as an unusual virus. At the beginning of 2020, the virus, now identified as a novel coronavirus began to spread throughout the entire world. Aside from a lockdown and a vaccine that had to be developed, the UK government invested heavily into a contact tracing system called track and trace. The aim of this system would be to trace who had come into contact with those that had testing positive for the virus so they could isolate and quarantine. Despite being heavily funded, track and trace has only a “marginal impact on transition of the virus”. This essay will be investing track and trace and what affected the way it was organised. By understanding it with reference to Deleuzian and Guattarian thought, it will be considered why track and trace was organised the way it was with a historical approaching using quantitative data and then why this meant track and trace was unsuccessful using an axiological approach. The territory in which the object will be considered is from political responses to catastrophes and centralisation.
In order to make this invested, this essay will attempt to give a broad description of Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts of state form thought and nomad form thought and the rhizomatic, and then discussing whether it is relevant into track and trace. State form and nomad form thought is the outlining how the state has power not only explicitly through laws but also by giving itself a rational justification for its framework. By considering the war machine, an entity that exists outside the state, Deleuze and Guattari develop nomad thought in order to offer an alternative to state thought, which is used to critique how the UK state organised track and trace. The rhizome is Deleuze and Guattari’s description metaphysics where the world operates as a rhizome, meaning it is fundamentally decentralised. This will be used to critique the fact track and trace was centralised. Deleuze and Guattari’s A Thousand Plateaus is used primary to develop these concepts and understood with reference Eugene Holland’s A Thousand Plateaus: a reader. Moreover, the essay uses information from the BBC and The Guardian to understand how track and trace worked and how successful it was. By considering this information, it will be investigated whether Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts are relevant to track and trace, considering how neoliberal policy affected how track and trace was organised, how sources advocated for centralisation in facing the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally whether Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts are relevant.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

In what way has Gender- regarding concepts of masculinity and femininity- changed in the past century and what does this mean for the future?

For this project I chose to explore that way that societies attitudes towards gender have shifted in the past 100 years. Through analysis of the work of Judith Butler and Simone de Beauvoir, I created an argument based upon the notion that we are defined above all else by our gender.
In order to bring my argument into the modern day, I looked into the Vogue December 2020 cover and article featuring Harry Styles and the subsequent backlash that it received.
Furthermore, I explored the territory of masculinity and femininity, referencing things such as the Mars and Venus symbols for gender and their meanings.
Eventually, I came to the conclusion that gender whilst prevalent in modern society, has taken us as far as it can.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 2

Is Beauvoirian feminism still topical today?

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was a French existentialist philosopher and a leading figure in the second-wave feminism movement. Beauvoir’s seminal book The Second Sex (1949) is widely considered as the first major study of women’s oppression in contemporary western feminist theory. The aim of my project is to examine Beauvoir’s central ideas in The Second Sex and subsequently demonstrate the topicality of Beauvoir’s manifesto on the feminist movement today.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

Different uses of flags in the United Kingdom and the way in which they relate to identity and narrative.

o In this project I will be exploring the way in which people use flags today and whether the reason is down to their identity and narrative.
o I will be using the two main examples of: Flags being used to fulfil a political agenda, and flags being used at a football match.
o The philosophers I will use to form an idea around identity and narrative are Bauman, Lyotard and Fisher.
o These themes and examples are important to research as I feel they are very relevant in today’s news and surround stories such as Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic.
o I will conclude that identity and narrative are extremely important when considering why people use flags, but that the reason they use the flag does not necessarily conform to a general stereotype.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

A discussion on how policing by consent operates and the challenges it presents in democratic societes

• The objective of my project is to discuss how policing by consent operates in a democratic society and the consequences to individuals and societies when the boundaries of policing by consent are transcended, particularly when it is believed that excessive and disproportionate force is used.

• The aim of my project is to describe the mechanisms by which policing by consent can be achieved, with the absence of transgression and force, and to also demonstrate the consequences for individuals and societies when this ethos is not embedded in policing practice.

• In order to do this, I am the applying the philosophical concepts of Bourdieu’s study of ‘symbolic power’, Hobbes ‘social contract theory’ and Bauman’s notion of ‘liquid modernity’. This is an important subject because the use of force by legitimate authority in a fair and proportionate manner to uphold laws continues to be relevant and a contentious issue in modern day society.

• Hobbes ‘social contract theory’ describes how we need laws to govern human behaviour and we need state force to ensure compliance with these laws. Hobbes believes man has a desire for security and order to ensure self-preservation with the end goal of avoiding misery and pain, therefore man enters into a social contract where individual rights and liberties are surrendered in exchange for security and peace. This can be applied to the concept of ‘policing by consent’ as it describes how individuals willingly engage in lawful behaviour in order to maintain security and order.
• Bourdieu’s notion of ‘symbolic power’ demonstrates that symbolism in the police is important in generating consent with symbols, such as uniforms, as they reinforce their position of authority in society. The symbolic power of the police evokes feelings of trust and the belief that they have just cause and legitimate authority for upholding the law. The symbolic power the police have can be utilised to generate consent from the public.
• At times the police have to reasonably use a legitimate amount of force to maintain order, however a consequence of this is the risk of the abuse of this force. Therefore, using Bauman’s notion of ‘liquid modernity’ it can be demonstrated that the police’s reputation is volatile, and the police are constantly on trial by the public. The transgression of boundaries of policing by consent can be extremely detrimental to public attitudes on the police.

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2021 Abstracts Stage 3

Totalitarianism and Technocracy: A Jungian and Huxleyan analysis of the Spiritual Problem of Modern Man, the distortion of Myth, and the path to Liberation

Totalitarianism and Technocracy: A Jungian and Huxleyan analysis of the Spiritual Problem of Modern Man, the distortion of Myth, and the path to Liberation