THE HOME Taking architecture as the territory, the object I have chosen is the home. ⇒ Everyone has a different idea of home – not necessarily always a building. ⇒ Factors such as politics, society and culture affect where and how we live. ⇒ How free are we to live as we choose? DWELLING ⇒ How does the way we dwell shape our characters as individuals? ⇒ Levinas’ notion of the Other – dependant upon being welcomed into a dwelling place. ⇒ Adorno feels capitalism subsumes art, limiting it to only the bourgeoisie whilst reifying all others. ⇒ Mass-produced homes = hundreds of people living the same? HEIDEGGER ⇒ Effects of technology, or techne: bringing-forth truth, unconcealment ⇒ Identity: for us to develop ‘Being-one’s-Self’ we need truth as a basis. ⇒ To be true to ourselves we must live authentically, but instead most of the time we are trapped in the inauthenticity of the ‘they’.
Category: 2008
What happens when personhood is threatened by a disease such as Dementia? In this project I intend to examine what exactly determines personhood, identity and the self in the elderly when threatened by Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. How can attitudes and care make a difference in our consideration of what exactly it means to be a person? Philosophy offers an account of personhood that science cannot entirely explain. Using thinkers such as Locke and Damasio this project will look at some of the prevailing theories of identity in dementia and what steps we can take to preserve personhood.
Territory: I decided to begin my research with one of my favourite bands the ‘Gorillaz’. The Gorillaz is a project created by Damon Albarn, who composed the music, but created a cartoon-like band to represent it for him. The band exists between the boundaries of the real world and the imagination of Albarn. Whilst researching the band, I was amazed to discover how many different artists, musicians and producers worked on the albums. The cartoon front for the band meant that all the artists and contributors could work on the album without having to be acknowledged for it. The animated characters take responsibility of looking and acting like the greatest rock band on earth, whilst the real musicians can contribute the music without the pressure of the commercial image which accompanies it. Concept I decided to focus on the notion of society as a spectacle as written about by Guy Debord. The main reason for this is because I agree with Debord’s notion that we live our everyday lives through a spectacle of society. I think in some ways the Gorillaz create their own spectacle of society as they reflect flaws in society through themselves. Examples of this are the ruining effect that big record companies have on music, and the harsh reality of the supposed glamour of being a star. Questions To what extent do the Gorillaz reflect Debord’s notion of the spectacle? Is it possible to escape the reign of the spectacle through art and music? Does the spectacle of a capitalist society fuel our sense of isolation and loss of creativity?
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.
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.