Using Hegel’s Phenomenology, I examine the movements of self-consciousness apparent in a selection of socio-political incidents in contemporary Europe. Hegel’s work is not a rulebook for action or for history. But we can derive meaning in life only from the conceptual understanding of our experiences. Do all social acts have historical meaning? What part does morality have to play between consciousness and the other? Does true freedom mean the freedom to be righteous in all things?
Category: 2005
Traditional Objections to Suicide which I Intend to Challenge: 1. Human life is sanctified, therefore it is wrong to commit suicide. 2. Suicide is wrong because it is selfish. 3. Man is made in the image of God, therefore it is wrong to take your own life. 4. When we die is God’s decision, not ours, therefore suicide is wrong. 5. Suicide is wrong because it deprives society of an otherwise useful citizen. 6. Suicide is wrong because it is ‘unnatural’. 7. Suicide is wrong because it is a form of murder. 8. ‘Life is a gift from God’, therefore suicide is wrong. Why is Suicide Still Stigmatised? 1. The role of the media: Isn’t the media guilty of undermining the seriousness of suicide by expounding sensationalist story-lines, e.g. ‘Tony Blair committed political suicide today’? Isn’t the media also guilty of reinforcing our negative feelings towards suicide to dramatise a situation e.g. using the term ‘suicide bombers’, instead of ‘martyrs’? Doesn’t the media fail to clarify our own confusions about ‘who’ is to blame when a suicidal act occurs? 2. The semiotics of suicide: Doesn’t the language we use as regards to suicide prejudice our understanding of the term suicide, e.g. the verb ‘to commit’ reminds us of the notion of crime (reiterated by the fact that suicide was only made legal in 1961 in England) and the fact that someone who attempts suicide is considered to be a “victim” is a difficult notion to comprehend given that a victim is someone who usually has something wrongful done to them – not someone who inflicts a wrongful action onto themselves. 3. Is the solution more immoral than the problem?: Whilst we are forced to acknowledge that suicide is a problem that has to be dealt with, given our extensive research of the subject, the problem comes with trying to implement a solution. One commentator has suggested the notion of pre-emptive incarceration based upon statistical analysis of suicides? Yet, how problematic would this be? Are the statistics too broad? Or are they too specific? Is it ethical to incarcerate someone because they are a potential suicide? Does the notion of incarceration revert back to the idea that suicide is a crime? What about the financial aspects of such a scheme? Can such a scheme make any real difference given that the existing methods of dealing with suicides (e.g. telephone services) are largely ineffective? Does the solution lie in a re-structuring of society, as Durkheim suggests? What are the consequences of such a re-structuring? 4. “God is Dead” (Nietzsche), and “Life is Absurd” (Camus) but suicide remains stigmatised: When “God died”, we may have expected the traditional rejection of suicide based upon religious (in particular, Christian) arguments to die with him. Yet, this did not happen. This suggests that Christianity did not install within us a sense that “killing is wrong”; what it does suggest, however, is that this sense of repulsion towards murder (in this case, self-murder) is innate within us – Christianity merely provided the vehicle by which to expound this view. Thus, when “God dies”, our prohibitions remained.
Aim: To explore how archaic traditions have been resurrected to suit contemporary circumstances with respect to the concept of ‘shell institutions,’ looking specifically at the Japanese Samurai caste and the code of the Bushido. Areas to be explored: -The history and practises of the Samurai -Bushido- the philosophy and codes of conduct of the Samurai, as well as the sources from which Bushido blossomed. -The development of Bushido, and its leading thinkers. – Parallels with Western philosophy. -The demise of the Samurai caste and its subsequent revitalisation.
We all want a fairy tale ending, everlasting happiness, in fact there is no more one important question within philosophy than that of the concept of happiness. It is the defining question of ethics. The crucial question that Socrates asked that of, how should I live? This question has been at the forefront of philosophical inquiry for the subsequent 2400 years, however despite this, constant deliberation has thus far produced no definitive answers. How should one live one’s life to maximise happiness? Throughout this project I wish to delve into some of the major theories of happiness to see if I can adopt any of them to make my life the happiest it can be. The mayor theorists I shall be tackling are: Aristotle – Believed happiness was achieved through fulfilment of the 3 parts of the soul. Socrates – Believed happiness is entwined with virtue. Plato – Believed happiness is achieved through acquiring the virtues and contemplation of the world of forms and the form of the good Epicurus – Believed happiness is achieved through moderate satisfaction, avoidance of pain and pleasure being the highest good Kant – one should always obey the moral law however living a virtuous life does not necessarily lead to happiness. Nietzsche – Happiness is achieved through going for what one truly desires. Pain is a necessary part of life – one cannot experience true happiness if one has not suffered. As well as looking at these philosophers I also wish to try to answer the following questions: What is Happiness? Why is it so important? How has happiness changed in the modern age? Is there one universal happiness that we all strive for? Finally I will look at an investigation into the youth of today and see what ultimately their philosophy behind happiness is.
Field of Exploration: I have chosen to examine the experience of boredom in myself and my closest friends. I will look at the way our level of interest I will look at the way our level of interest has changed from our school days to the present day.
Aims and objectives: To discover what causes boredom at different stages of our lives from school years to adult life. To examine the philosophical implications on the life of an individual. To discover ways to prevent and overcome boredom in onself and others.
Abstract: Boredom is something that affects everybody at some point in their lives. For some it is a force that motivates them to change, for others it is a curse that drains them of their motivation.
Heidegger provides an in-dept analysis of boredom and he suggests using boredom to attune to Dasein.This investigation takes Heidegger’s work as a starting point and myself as its subject matter in an attempt to discover the true essence of boredom and perhaps find ways to combat it.
Sources: Heidegger – The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics, Nietzsche -Human, All too human: Beyond Good and Evil, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, Blanchot – The Infinite Conversation, Kierkegaard – Either/Or
Objective: My objective in my project is to look at the way our perception of animals has developed through the ages in England, right up to the “Hunting Act” in 2004. I will attempt to understand why some people have different views then others, for instance to see if there is a direct correlation in opinion between those from a rural community and those that live in the countryside. I will address issues such as experimenting on animals, eating animals and using animals for sport (fox hunting). The philosopher that I will mainly focus on will be Peter Singer, who focused a lot of his work on arguing that animals should be treated as an equal to humans. I will look at his explanation of why animals should be given equal “consideration” as humans receive when deciding on how to act. Sources: As I have already mentioned the philosopher that I will mainly focus on is Peter Singer, so I will use his books, such as “Animal Liberation” and “Ethics”. Along with Singer, I will also look at philosopher such as Deleuze and theories such as Utilitarianism. I will also base a lot of my work on Roger Scruton’s book “Town and Country”, as he addresses the conflicting views of rural and urban communities. I will also look into the progress of the Animal Liberation movement, which can be found in publications such as “Horse and Hound”. Achievements: Having looked at the evolution of animal rights, a major reason for the change appears to be the reduction in contact with animals that those in urban communities now have. Where as previously animals were spread out all over the country, with the agricultural and industrial revolutions animals no longer occupied the cities. Therefore the majority of contact that those people who lived in cities had with animals was with their pets. They therefore looked upon wild animals in the same way they do their pets, as individuals. This is in contrast to those in the countryside whose ‘livestock’ have a ‘working’ purpose. Due to the urban understanding of animals their conservation attitudes often cause more harm to the species they are attempting to save then good. For instance, by making badgers protected species it has caused an outbreak of TB amongst badgers which is being spread to cattle.
OBJECTIVES: • to consider the different fundraising methods • find out how these are linked to meta-design and mediated experience • decide whether meta-design and mediated experience are beneficial to fundraising and life in general META DESIGN Meta-Design characterizes activities, processes, and objectives to create new media and environments that allow users to act as designers and be creative An important aspect of meta-design is to design not just an artifact, but a life-cycle that anticipates changes that may occur over a long period of time. MEDIATED EXPERIENCE Mediated Experience refers to the idea that there are systems and networks between a person and their natural experience. Something is put into a system, changed, and we then see the output that has been altered in the system.
Objective: The main objective of this project, is to understand the manner in which people take on religious beliefs, or belief in paranormal occurrences, and why they do it. I also intend to try and answer the following questions: Why (apart from the obvious advances in scientific knowledge) were old beliefs cast off for the new ones popular in the world today? Is there a specific pattern that can be followed through the transitions of belief systems and ways of thinking seen in far and recent history? Also what does this say about modern society, and is there any indication as to where things might go next? Concepts: The term ‘religious instinct’ is a suggestion of biological determinism through genetic traits, so here I am looking at the concepts of ‘self’ and ‘free-will’ that are put into question when our biology seems to rule our choices. Occult beliefs in many cases seem to be a reflection of man’s desire to control his own destiny, and exert his will and domination over his environment. Here, then I shall be looking at the concept of ‘destiny’ (which links in with ‘free will’), and ‘human rights’ not in the traditional sense which is negative in that it is concerned with the right not to be subjected to incarceration and torture etc.; my use of the term is in reference to our right to dominate and control things. Also, I am looking into the concept of ‘Power’ which is very much connected with the question of humanities right to dominate. Sources: For this project I shall be using diverse sources which spread through a range of different disciplines i.e. Theology, Genetic Biology, Sociology, Parapsychology, and of course Philosophy. However the main core texts which I shall be referring to are: Volume 1 of Max Weber’s Economy and Society, Lyall Watson’s Supernature – a natural history of the supernatural, Frances A. Yates’ The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age, Victoria A. McElroy’s The Nature of Belief Systems , and Friedriech Nietzsche’s Thus spoke Zarathustra.
Is someone who finds a tribal scarring ceremony beautiful wrong or justified to believe whatever they choose? This includes an exploration of the concept of beauty and its dimensions. Beauty will be mainly discussed in terms of the female; it is aimed towards beauty as a concept in modern times, regarding appearance rather than the aesthetics of art. The overall thesis of this discussion is that beauty, controversial as it can be, is in the eye of the beholder and therefore different cultures, times and context all have varying priorities and values regarding beauty. Chapter 1 What is beauty? The philosophical arguments regarding beauty. Different philosophical theories ranging from Plato to Kant and Santayana, concluding that the modern perspective is that beauty is subjective. However, is beauty the actual object or the feeling connected with beauty? Kirwin argues that the sensation of beauty is universal and therefore while the object is subjective the sensation is not. The biological argument, initiated by Darwin, that people perceive beauty in humans with regard to biological advantage is also discussed- does this make human beauty universal, what about homosexuals? Chapter 2 Case study-Warie Dirie, a description of infibulation and the cultural arguments surrounding it within a specific case. Debate on the justification of female circumcision, what are the concepts of beauty within this tradition? Chapter 3 Cosmetic surgery, its massive growth throughout the last ten years-why is it so popular-what are the aims, the problematization of age-what does this imply about beauty. Chapter 4 Feminist arguments about beauty, is beauty a ‘beauty myth’? Are women subordinated by the pressure to conform to an ideal? The aims and art of Orlan-challenging beauty through cosmetic surgery. Chapter 5 Different practices within cultures that are either beautifying or mutilating. A look at the rise in body modification through tattoos, piercings and scarification, what are the aims of these modifiers-to challenge cultural norms? Is it cultural imperialism to class something alien to us as mutilation? A discussion of whether or not one can impose a view upon another culture without being imperialist, a comparison of foot binding with female circumcision. Is beauty ideology? A glimpse at power through the eyes of Foucault, Lenin, Lukes and Marx. Conclusion-what does this all imply about beauty. A parallel between beauty and deformation with Calabrese’s notion of the neo-baroque and replicants, a homogenising of society. Harvey’s postmodern consumerist world. The Dove Report, what do Western women really feel about beauty. Philosophical implications of the differing viewpoints regarding beauty and perfection. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder??
Outline of Investigation. – History of British Newspapers – Statistics of readership – Front Page propaganda – The Sun – Ideology and structuralism – Jean Baudrillard. Special Points of Interest: – Changing language in newspapers – Images in newspapers – Relationship between information media and the masses – The real and the “more than eral”, hyper-realities – Desire and seduction – Passivity versus activity – Obscenity, transparency, pornography – Death of the author and death of the reader. Assertion: The overexposure to media messages, along with the immediacy and quantity of this information has and continues to pacify the individual so that the style and content of British newspapers has to become increasingly simple, accessible and transparent to accommodate for the death of the reader. New Media and Language. What effect has the emergence of media technologies such as radio, the internet and more specifically the television had on the style and content of British Newspapers? Information and communication have never more visible and accessible than in the postmodern era. Media information is everywhere apparent so that it is difficult to imagine life without it and is impossible to avoid. How has this affected the tangible print of newspapers?
Aims • To look at the role that capitalism plays in the running of the major record labels in the modern day music industry, and to compare this with the way in which independent labels are run, i.e. understand the goals of the respective labels • To understand how the industry works and whether Marx idea of a worldwide monopolisation of capitalism can be defended. • To look at the future of the music industry after advance such as the internet and the resurgence of independent labels and what role capitalism will play in the years to come.