Territory: Anti-Semitism in Hitler’s Mein Kampf vs. anti-immigration policies in the BNP Manifestos – “scapegoatism” of cultural minorities in right-wing politics. Objectives: • to identify the evolution of nationalism in the Western world. • to investigate the impact that cultural diversification has upon our attitudes towards others – has racism truly dissipated? • to consider why the exaggerated fantasy of the conspirator is so readily accepted to blame; do we genuinely believe minorities are responsible for our misery? • to decide objectively whether closedness is the more natural reaction to alterity. Concepts: • Reductio ad Hitlerum? (Leo Strauss) • “Scapegoatism” of minorities for social problems. • Žižek: ‘the Other’ as a threat – che vuoi? • Levinas: ‘the Other’ as superior – height and openness.
Category: 2008
Key concept: Looking to the employee within the labour market and trying to determine the degree of freedom one has within this work environment. Main Objectives: Within this project I have reflected on the changing nature of employment and the employee within it, through initiating a direct comparison between the Industrial Revolution, Adam Smith and 21st century Britain. I have investigated the concept of labour with regards to how it is perceived; whether it be as a determined aspect of life or a practice which we choose to freely feature within our lives. I have highlighted the dramatic transformations between these two time frames and investigated the emancipation humanity has experienced particularly in relation to one’s work life balance and our freedom to negate different aspects of our careers. Philosophical Concepts: Hegel: A ‘philosopher of freedom’ who emphasised how we develop freedom and become united within a peaceful society through recognising each other’s existence. We can discover our ‘abstract right,’ and individuality through freedom, a human right which must not be infringed upon by others. Humans must use logic to attain absolute freedom within a rational state. We must create individual thought and put it to society for verification. At work we must respect one another and not use others to attain immoral, individual desires. His conception declares we are free and have the right to choose at work. Any submission to authority is voluntary because we have not identified our own freedom yet. Locke: Freedom focuses on living morally with others within society. Individual freedom relates to one’s ‘power to order actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.’ Our freedom is contained within society’s laws, which aid our action and offer guidance. We own our labour and place it where we choose, to obtain property. We must contribute through work to sustain society. The labour theory of value claims we can recognise the efforts of one’s labour and creativity within all objects. We must abide by the spoilage and sufficiency principles, to ensure we maintain a minimum level for all around us and do not violate their rights; upholding equality and mutual respect is a duty of humanity. Marx: Argues against capitalism, which encourages separation, alienation and further develops the distinctions between the proletariat and bourgeois. Communism is the apparent solution, to equalising humanity and preventing production dominating all aspects of life. Capitalism ensures work takes over one’s life and turns the worker into a commodity, an easily disposable dehumanised product. The labour theory of value shows how individual labour is not paid in relation to production; the object’s price is significantly higher than the worker’s wage. Freedom comes when we realise the negatives of capitalism and reform the economic system; hence we are not truly free within work. Personal Change/ Development: My project has allowed me to critically evaluate the concept of labour and relate it directly to two distinct time periods. It has allowed me to further my historical knowledge on the Individual Revolution and the conceptions prevalent within that period. Also it has allowed me to collect research on human rights and break it down to communicable points of reference. I have been able to look to three distinct philosophers and tie in their conceptions, regarding our freedom in the labour market, to provide a rounded summary of opinions. I have had to assess their applicability and work within their theories to determine their potential thoughts on this topic. Sources: The Philosophy of Right by Hegel. The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke. Communist Manifestos by Karl Marx. Article research and literary discussions of employee rights.
In my project I observe the phenomenon of consumption and its cultural implications on our day society. I believe it is very important to demonstrate the complexity and measure of the subject and I attempt to demonstrate some of the key issues through analysing Newcastle’s own Eldon Square shopping centre. My philosophical concept is based on the material of Jean Baudrillard. I believe he showed a real insight in the complexity and complicatedness of consumerism through the notion of the political economy of the sign and demonstrated how sign functions in the relations that involve economic, symbolic and use value exchange.
In this project I examine the working class in Britain and compare the conditions that they have to work in the time of Marx and now. My main objective here is to show that the working class exist as a class and a narrative, and to disprove Lyotard’s famous claim that we no longer through narratives. I intend also to show that capitalism is unfair and that it is not a system that the working classes can benefit from. I provide a solution and conclude that through Vattimo’s philosophy of pluralism, and Lyotard’s theory of language games, capitalism can be destabilised, which would therefore help the working class. Habermas is briefly explored with reference to his claim that ‘modernity is dominant but dead’. In this sense modernity can be compared to the values of the working classes today, as research shows their values to be dormant in the postmodern society. Research for this project involved concentrating on the ‘White Season’ this spring which the BBC2 produced. The ‘White Season’ aired programmes about the working class today, and how times have changed. There is also an array of class reports and books that I focus on as well, and to explore my territory of class conditions in Marx’s era, I looked at in depth The Conditions of the Working Class in England (1993) by Engels. To apply philosophical concepts to my project in order to prove influence, I looked at Vattimo’s The Transparent Society (1992), and Nihilism and Emancipation (2004), Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition (2005), and The Communist Manifesto (1973) by Marx and Engels, amongst others. I feel that my project is of wider importance because I am exploring the effects that the capitalist system has on the class system, and this is a factor that can affect everyone. On completion of this project, my knowledge of the working class and the philosophical concepts I applied to it is greater, and more accurate than before.
The territory for my project is Mental Health while the object is the treatment and models of explanation for mental illness. The concepts I will be using can be defined as Madness, Freedom and the Superego. Over the past few decades there has occurred an important transformation in the type of care offered to the mentally afflicted. The introduction of community based care in place of institutionalisation has generated a debate surrounding the danger that mentally ill patients present. I will identify the pros and cons of such schemes drawing on statistical data and public attitudes. Unfortunately, there generally exists a negative stigma towards the mentally ill which in turn affects the plausibility of their presence in the community. Would you object to living next door to a schizophrenic? I have further incorporated the transition from a natural scientific explanation of mental illness to the triumph of social psychology. The Philosophy. I have utilized the work of Michel Foucault to identify a historical change in the concept of madness and employed his ideas relating to the power of knowledge and experience. Surrounding the treatment dichotomy, I have identified a contrast between the ethical views of Alasdair MacIntyre and the moral and political theory of Thomas Hobbes. I will further look at the work of Sigmund Freud in order to raise the question; to what extent does society exercise its Super-ego?
Objectives – ● To consider how eastern and western cultures view the concept of nature, and consider how this affects their interaction with the natural world, and what impact it has on their scientific progression. ● I have tackled this by considering the philosophies of the conflicting cultures, as well as looking at their scientific achievements and general treatment of nature and the surrounding world. Concepts in the east – ● Their history, and how it may have led to philosophical development rather than scientific. ● Taoism – one of the prominent philosophies of China, that puts a huge emphasis on respecting nature. I looked specifically at the writings of Lao Tzu And Chuang Tzu. ● Other cultural factors that may have led to the lack of any ‘laws of nature’ being formed, such as the nature of their language. Concepts in the west – ● Scientific revolution, which included people such as Galileo, Newton and Descartes, and led to the dominance of religion being replaced by scientific logic and reasoning. ● Western philosophy, which became more logical and science based after the revolution. I have used Hobbes and Mill as two examples. Conclusions – ● I considered how much of eastern culture can be observed in the west, and how well its differing concepts, such as its preference of inaction over ambition, can find a place in the hectic western world. ● I also contemplated which culture had the right attitude towards nature, and how much the conflicting nations could or should learn from each other.
I have always enjoyed reading fantasy literature and been extremely interested in the ideas and philosophy behind this genre and the opinions that the authors manifest in their books. It was for this reason that I chose to start my project this year around fantasy literature. I chose “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis and “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman for two main reasons. Firstly they are both extremely successful book series that I have enjoyed and engaged with from an early age. And secondly because the two authors and their works of literature show two very different opinions to philosophical problems of existence, and human value in this existence we find ourselves in. With a firm understanding of both these sets of books as a foundation for my project I then tried to relate these books to my chosen concept of human value both on earth after death. This concept of existence and questions that relate to existence and the possibility of a kind of reality or existence after death have always deeply fascinated me, and indeed, to be able to think about these kind of issues and problems was my main reason and motivation to study for an Master of Arts degree in Philosophy. As a philosophical framework for my chosen concept, I decided to study the ancient metaphysics of Plato in comparison Friedrich Nietzsche and his philosophy of human value. I found this comparison thoroughly interesting in terms of the main difference of opinion of human value. Was it that ideas of value was grounded in the physicality and materialism of this earth, and the will self preserve this life and to seek as much power on it as possible? Or was it that value should be placed on striving to gain an understanding of a reality beyond this life to a reality that is realized after death, and living one’s life in preparation to what will happen after life on this earth? It is certainly true that my project, and specifically the conclusions that I reached were influenced by all that I have learnt on the three year course. I have been able to see how philosophy has changed through history from the ancient world of metaphysics through the middle ages theology, the enlightenment, modernity, and finally the impact of postmodernity and poststructuralism. I and my project conclusions have been most influenced through the study of postmodernity and thinkers such as Lyotard and Vattimo. The idea of pluralism I found very interesting and I have discovered that its implications to society to be extremely significant in what one places the value of existence on.
The idea that I decided to look at was that of technology, more specifically the internet. The reason I used this was to enable a sense of relevance to my peers as we have all enjoyed a privileged upbringing when it comes to the availability we have at our disposal of technology. We are all able to use the internet through the resources we have had at school, in local libraries and even here at university. As a result of this we are inflicted to a multitude of facts and opinions. When looking at it philosophically we are bound to notice that with this growth in technology we have inevitably felt a shift in culture. I intend to show a radical change in the way that we are now able to interact with the world and voice our opinions. This will inevitably be shown through tracing the line from which the newspaper changed from being the only means of global information, to the culmination of the internet and its use for informing people of the news. My project aims at showing the change in culture due to the growth in communication technology.
Territory: Society both Historical and Contemporary with reference to the Initial Claim. Object/Philosophical Concepts: Freedom vs. Equality within the context of Historical Society and the Contemporary Change. My project is centred around the initial claim, “Discrimination may go but Prejudice will always be here”. I wanted to look at the social and cultural change in society where race is concerned, looking closely at the relationship between Freedom and Equality. The initial claim raised questions about society both with Civil Rights and Cultural Acceptance. Asking the question, even if we are Equal in the eyes of the law, are we Free from social prejudice? Historical Society: From Slavery to Civil Rights, what legal rights did black people have in a white society, when did it change and why did it take so long? Contemporary Change: To try and get an idea of race and multiculturalism in modern society, how it has changed society and cultural acceptance from different races. Sources: My original inspiration came from the Quote, which a line from a song by Audioweb called Policeman Skank which is based around racist views of police and unfair judgement in society due to race. I also watched the 2004 film Crash which I think captures an accurate view of race within contemporary American society but also illustrates my philosophical concept of Alienation within society. I also looked at key figures and periods in history which I feel outline the relationship between Freedom and Equality, like Slave Trading and Slavery, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Hitler, the Aryan Race and the 1936 Olympics and the Civil Rights Movements in 1950’s and 1960’s and Philosophical Concept: Based my research into contemporary society I wanted to look at a philosophical concept which not only brought together my concepts of Freedom vs. Equality, but also highlighted social constraints we face today. I think the concept of Alienation, in both Marxist theory and in Heideggerian thought, demonstrated not only how have we become alien to other races, but also to our own. I wanted to look closely at this concept as it is one I find particularly interesting and a concept I believe we can all relate to in society, whether it is to do with race or not.
Territory: I have chosen to explore the power and impact of electronic devices that act as mediators when we perceive the world. I will focus on the way in which the position of the ‘subject’ is continually shifting in this increasingly technological and mediated society. Questions that need addressing: I wish to discover the shift in the material condition of humanity and how communication systems and technology have changed the role of the individual within the world, and thus the way we live, learn and interact with each other. Questions that necessitate investigation include: what is knowledge and truth if all information is mediated through several networks? This will lead to a discussion of whether mediated knowledge in any way deflects from the final product or image, that is to say whether it makes digital information and knowledge less authentic or second rate in anyway. To open this territory up for philosophical investigation I am going to look at the notion of presence and absence and what it means to be present as a human being using the philosophers Heidegger and Derrida, and whether there are different levels of being, in relation to mediated reality as proposed by some thinkers. In addition, I am going to use the concepts of authenticity and simulation and apply them to media by looking at Baudrillard and Debord. Key thinkers and sources: The main sources of my research will lie within the philosophical thought of Jacques Derrida, Martin Heidegger and Jean Baudrillard. I will also be drawing upon the ideas of G. W. F. Hegel and the modern sociologist Mark Poster.
Why do we seemingly have unjust laws in our society? Alcohol and Tobacco have been proven to be extremely harmful and so why are they not illegal as well as other banned drugs? If it is due to the revenue generated by the sale of these products then surely we are being treated as means to an end, and this is morally wrong. Could Utilitarianism or Paternalism be the key to this answer? Are the laws consistent? No, in fact the laws are hypocritical and must be revised.
Territory • Autism and Asperger Syndrome • Personal Interest in Autism – work at charity for autistic children • Interested to look at specific traits of autism, and link it to philosophical ethical theory • Autism as a social disorder and developmental disability, and a lifelong, cross cultural disability • Difficulty relating to people and thus a difficulty with empathy – impaired theory of mind • Triad of impairments – difficulty with social imagination, interaction and communication • Routines and special interests • Theory of Mind – ability to think that other people have different thoughts/feelings to you – can imagine how people feel in particular situation. E.g. If someone’s mother has died, though you may not be sad yourself, can understand how they will be feeling • ASD = impaired theory of mind – not instinct to think/act in a particular way • So, if we cannot put ourselves in someone else’s position, can we be held responsible for acting “badly”? • People with ASD often have other accompanying disorders, e.g. Attention deficit disorder and depression • Impaired theory of mind means people with ASD will have a lack of awareness for the outcome of an action. Philosophical Concepts • Hobbes – ideas of self, preservation, and that one is free to do something if we can do it if we so will. Idea of pleasure as the only good, and so the only thing that people do for its own sake – We always act on our strongest desire for self-preservation – we act in the right for ourselves – more lenient of autistic behaviours? • Mill – Consequentialist tradition that an action is right or wrong depending on consequences – An action is good if it benefits the most people possible – acting in an apparently socially unacceptable way is not excusable as it will cause more harm to people than good • Kant – We should do the right thing for the right reasons – idea of duty – looks at INTUITIONISM and a voice of conscience • Hegel’s Theory of action – Similar to Kant – sees morality to be autonomous as to be moral is to deny a law which applies equally to everyone rather than just to oneself • Foucault – Look at in terms of a change throughout history – Very specific that ASD is NOT a mental disorder, but a developmental disability • In the past people who acted in such a way would not have been understood in the same way that they are now, and so could have been excluded from society/treated badly – E.g. hospital General in Paris • Rise in scientific knowledge (Kant), people now understand more and so people are hopefully less likely to be excluded for being “different”. Aims and Objectives • I have a great personal interest in autism and have worked with autistic children for the last four years • People with autism are often misunderstood, and so I think it is important for awareness of the disorder to be raised and that is the aim of this project, as well as looking at whether or not people who are unaware that what they are doing is wrong, can be held responsible for their actions.
Territory/object: Marriage/Thai Brides. Concepts: contract, marriage, freedom/autonomy, love. Thinkers/texts: Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals, Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. Change/contrast: contrast between Thai Bride marriages/modern day British marriages. Contrast object with arranged marriages and love marriages. Main objective: My project is driven by the intuition that our normal Western understanding of marriage as the lifetime union of two loved ones, (under a public formal contract), is questionably going to become a thing of the past. Here, we must take into consideration factors such as: -the world interacting on an unprecedented technological advances,(Internet access, accessibility to cheap travel, etc) and, -more importantly, the resulting impact of influential views from different cultures upon each other. I will be investigating what marriage is in today’s world/in the past, and whether much has really changed. I also ask the question as to whether modern Britain has time for love? Intended knowledge outcomes: By engaging in this project, I intend to: 1. learn about the historical origins of marriage; 2. be acquainted with the standard descriptions of an authentic marriage and the justifications of these; 3. be able to define the central concepts of marriage and property; 4. demonstrate the connection between my key texts and everyday understandings of a phenomenon (here, marriage).
In this project I am using the novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton as my territory and focus on the character of John Hammond and his desire to recreate an extinct species. I will explore the ethical implications involving scientific knowledge in a postmodern world. I am going to look at Jurassic Park and show that once Hammond starts creating dinosaurs it becomes a social labour. Once this happens without ethical restraints chaos can ensue. I will begin with an overview of the story, I will then explain how the story shows that an independent enquiry becomes a social labour when Hammond’s team start creating dinosaurs, and as a result their actions affect other people. Once I have shown this the need for an ethical theory to restrict social, (in this case of Hammond’s recreation of dinosaurs) will become clear. I will consider whether two different ethical theories would have allowed Jurassic Park. The ethical theories I will consider applying will be Mill’s Utilitarianism and Kant’s Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives. The reason I have chosen to explore these is because one is teleological and the other is deontological. I will compare and contrast the opposing theories and evaluate whether either can provide a good model for making ethical decisions with reference to social labour. I will then add a brief summary of what I have discussed.
Territory: Four businesses operating in the UK retail sector of industry and their company websites. Areas of Investigation: • Company values and the role and functions of these in business. • The ‘relationship’ between business and its customers and how this is changing as a result of the internet. • Marketing and advertisement techniques and the possible effects they might have on consumers. • Crisis of legitimation and the poststructuralist interpretations of western society. Philosophical Thinkers Involved: Nietzsche’s ‘Will to Power’ exposes fundamental issues with values in retail business practises. As a result conceptions of power are considered in the forms expressed by Foucault and Thomas to see how this affects the position of the consumer. Baudrillard’s ideas of simulacra and simulation were then used to highlight possible reasons for company values in relation to how we perceive the real. Further exposition of the consumer relation to business was carried out through the work of Jean François Lyotard and Gianni Vattimo. Conclusions: Businesses values are not legitimate but instead the result of our interactions as consumers; our purchases can actually shape society making our relationship with business an active one instead of passive. The overall conception of business as a physical entity is misleading as it has no fixed point; businesses are sociological phenomenon that reflects the general will of society because they are governed by the pragmatics of economics and are fundamentally made from members of that society.
TERRITORY: THE DRUG WAR As the world’s largest exporter of Cocaine, accounting for around 80% of all Cocaine consumed in the USA, the impact on Colombian society has been profound affecting every aspect of society. Colombian drug trafficking up to the early 1990’s was run by 4 main Drug Cartels who controlled every aspect of society including infiltrating the government using ruthless methods to maintain dominance such as, murder, kidnap intimidation, bribery etc… OBJECT: FARC – EP This left wing Colombian Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group originated in the 1960’s and are fighting the government to make communist reforms. These guerrillas are located in the hard to reach jungles of Colombia and are one of the richest terror groups in the world due to their involvement with drug trafficking. Other methods of financing include kidnapping high profile figures for ransom and exchange of prisoners. Recent military attacks and the deaths of the two top leaders have put the future of the organisation in doubt. Has the revolt com to its end? PARALLEL: PARAMILITARIES IN N. IRELAND POST GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT After 30 years of civil unrest in N.I. paramilitaries position in society were effectively made redundant. Many of the organisations turned to criminal activities such as drugs, extortion, gun crime and racketeering. Many of the activities had previously used to fund the groups in their political ambitions but with ideology gone all that has been left is criminality. This is comparable to FARC where their adventure into drug trafficking has blurred their political ideology. CONCEPTS: REVOLUTION AND HISTORY USING MARX AND FUKUYAMA I will be exploring the territory and object using Marx and Fukuyama and their respective theories of history both influenced by Hegel. Using Marx I shall be asking whether or not communism is a redundant ideology in the 21st century due to the dramatic shift in the political climate in the past 100 years. Using Fukuyama’s ‘End of History and The Last Man’ I’ll be investigating whether in fact Liberal Democracy is the final frontier in political ideology as it has proven to be the most stable over since its genesis. Is this the final stage or is Revolution still possible in the 21st Century?
When we fall in love, we fall first for the physical appearance and then for the beauty that the other embodies. We fall in love with the ‘who’ that radiates through a face and a body. In that gaze we unite the flesh and spirit of the loved one and reveal them as an unrepeatable existence. Lovers perceive their fragility in the world, and so they entrust each other to corporeal language, and by exposing themselves to each other, seek an unrepeatable, whole and necessary existence (Cavarero: 2000). The amorous game creates a scene for the unification of body and mind, a place where the content of being can be released. In this unification you can feel as though you are part of the world soul, fragile in the external yet consumed by the fleeting power to appreciate ulterior forms; to know love and to know what it is to exist
Outline: I aim to explore the concept of anxiety, loss of meaning and absurdity of life as presented within “Existentialist” narrative. In evoking these ideas from specific novels I will analyse them more precisely with relation to Martin Heidegger’s concept of anxiety. Territory: In particular I will be studying Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea, Albert Camus’ The Outsider, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground, and Leo Tolstoy’s A Confession. In examining these texts I hope to explore how the idea of loss of meaning is presented and focus particularly upon the individual’s coming to terms with the absurdity of life. Philosophical Material: The philosopher that I have chosen to focus on is Martin Heidegger and particularly his concept of anxiety within his work What is Metaphysics? Here Heidegger produces an account which indicates how the individual is able to think about and question their own existence and how, through the state of anxiety, they are able to reflect upon “the nothing” that appears on their horizon of thought. As well as analysing What is Metaphysics? I shall also use Heidegger’s Being and Time, On the Essence of Truth and The Origin of the Work of Art to indicate the significant role that this concept of anxiety plays within his greater philosophy. Where Heidegger builds upon a philosophy considering the individual I shall also look at the work of Emmanuel Levinas, who concentrates on a more social philosophy, in order to bring contrast to Heidegger’s thought. In his struggle to come to terms with a finite existence Leo Tolstoy was torn between suicide and religion. The struggle of the individual’s existence is the concept that lies at the heart of my project.
-Are the ideas of institutions such as museums and libraries relevant any longer in postmodern society? – People are increasingly becoming very distanced from their past and their heritage. Within postmodernity, the past seems to have been separated from our everyday lives. It is frequently looked at as something that is no longer relevant. We sometimes seem so focused on progress that we ignore how we came to be where we are in the first place – Can development exist without any reference to the past? – In modernity we look at the past because we can see the ways in which it has affected and created the present, and will do also, for the future, therefore, we cannot fully separate the idea of development from a narrative of history. I am looking at the ways in which institutions such as museums and libraries contribute to growing knowledge and inventiveness, by enabling us to have access to the knowledge, discoveries and great works of the past.Table2[@Title]
TERRITORY: The American Dream. CONCEPTS: The Individual Vs Society, Equality Happiness and Fulfilment, Freedom. PHILOSOPHICAL THINKERS/TEXTS: Rousseau: and his theory of the social contract- The individual vs Society & Equality. John Locke: The 2 Treatises of Government. The natural rights of men and Government- Equality and the individual and society. Mill & Bentham: The theory of Utilitarianism and what it means to be happy for society and the individual. Problems? Is the American dream just a myth? Can society and individual peacefully co-exist? Are all people truly equal in their attempt to obtain their American dream?